The Demon of Bayville – An XMen Evolution, Beauty
by Knightcrawler
Summary: Set in an Alternative Universe, with elements from both the X-Men Evolution and comic universe, the Demon of Bayville has become a creature of myth and legend. Kitty Pryde, a young and inexperienced X-woman is sent on a mission to destroy this creature.
1. Chapter 1

The Demon of Bayville – An X-Man Evolution, Beauty and the Beast Tale

_Prologue - Kurt_

They sat around the fire, telling tales of the Demon of Bayville. One boy stood up, waving his hands around in dramatic gestures, pretending to be the demon itself. The boy told the enraptured crowd that the demon would leap out at the unwary, attack without provocation, without warning. It dwelt in the night-time, one with the shadows, and they welcomed it as one of their own.

Another log was placed upon the campfire as the boy continued his tale. He told the assembled group that the demon went by the name of Nightcrawler, and it had a long sinewy tail, spaded at the end. It had fangs and glowing yellow eyes, and it was a creature of nightmares and darkness. The demon could travel between dimensions, leaving the stench of sulphur in its wake, along with a cloud of dark purple smoke. All should fear the Nightcrawler; this creature straight out of the depths of the darkest, most evil pit, for it was a creature of pure evil.

The crowd all listened in rapt attention as the speaker concluded his tale, and none of them noticed a pair of sad, yellow eyes glowing down at them from the treetops above them. The creature slumped slightly, holding his tail between his misshapen hands. They would never understand, never. He closed his eyes, and became once more one with the shadows. Maybe he should stop even trying, it was clear that they would not listen to his words, and would probably attack him on sight. Lowering his head slightly, the creature activated his mutant power, and within a moment, there was nothing left to indicate that he had ever been there, nothing except a cloud of dark purple smoke, and the smell of sulphur on the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 1- Kitty_

It had been three months since Kitty's powers had first manifested. She remembered the morning clearly, as she literally fell through the stairs, landing on the floor of her kitchen and surprising her parents nearly out of their wits. This was nothing compared to the shock that Kitty herself had experienced, looking up at where her overcoat was stuck in the ceiling from where, bruised and confused, she lay upon the cold kitchen floor. She had felt like crying, uncertainty and confusion mingling with the realisation that her life had definitely changed and that she would never be quite the same person, ever again. Her parents, to their credit, had managed to get over their shock relatively quickly, and had contacted the wizard-professor Charles Xavier concerning the development of Kitty's phasing power. Charles Xavier was a kindly, fatherly figure, bald and wheelchair-bound, but with a demeanour of authority that more than made up for his physical defects. He had explained to Kitty that some people, when maturing from childhood to adulthood, developed unusual powers and abilities, and that these people were sometimes referred to as mutants. Kitty herself was a mutant, although neither of her parents possessed mutant abilities, and these abilities were often passed on from one generation to the next. Kitty had been accepted at Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters, where she spent her evenings perfecting her mutant abilities, as well as learning the ways of the sword and the bow. By day, Kitty continued to attend Bayville High, where she learned the more mundane skills that were required of all young people in the land. It was hard work, but Kitty was a good student, excelling at everything except Domestic Chemistry and Physical Education. Professor Logan had certainly helped her to improve in her level of physical fitness over the past few months, but Kitty still could not cook a decent meal to save her life. One student had once joked that Kitty's cakes could potentially be used as deadly weapons, and had ended up wearing the cakes.

Kitty sighed slightly, thinking about how much her life had changed in the last year. Everyone at the Academy had treated her well, but part of her longed for the good old days, before she even knew what a mutant was, let alone identified herself as one. Still, there had been many advantages to joining the Academy. If she had never joined the Xavier Academy for Gifted Youngsters, she would never have met her present bow, Lance Alvers. He was a member of the Brotherhood of Protectors, mutants who had sworn to protect those who could not protect themselves. Lance was tall and handsome, and Kitty was sure that he cared for her deeply. Still, she was not sure that she liked the other members of the Brotherhood, and at times felt that they would lead Lance into trouble if he was not careful. Kitty was so deep in her musings that she hardly noticed when Ms Munroe knocked loudly on her door, making Kitty nearly phase through the nearest wall.

"Kitty, are you in there?" she asked. She sounded concerned, but little truly terrified Ms Munroe. Like Kitty, Ms Munroe was a mutant, and she had the codename Storm, since she had the ability to control the weather. Secretly, Kitty longed that she would someday be just like Ms Munroe when she was older, for the weather-witch was a strong, independent and powerful young woman, yet was nevertheless kind and compassionate.

"Kitty, this is the second time I've tried to contact you, are you unwell?" Ms Munroe asked.

Kitty shook her head as she phased through the door, smiling up at her mentor. "No, sorry, just lost in thought," she said rather sheepishly.

Ms Munroe nodded and smiled at Kitty, her eyes compassionate. "You miss your family. It is understandable."

Kitty shrugged, "Yes, I miss them. But everyone's been kind to me here. I know I don't have reason to complain," she added quickly.

Ms Munroe nodded, "We will try to arrange it so that you can visit your parents in the near future, if you are feeling homesick. But right now, Professor Xavier and Professor Logan would like to speak to you concerning a very special mission."

Kitty brightened up considerably when she heard that. Much as she loved the training sessions, part of her really wanted to have some actual action in the 'real world' as Lance called it. "What sort of mission?" Kitty asked.

Ms Munroe shook her head, white hair cascading around her like a waterfall. "It seems that there has been another demon attack," she said sadly, "we have spoken to the Brotherhood of Protectors, but it seems that this demon can move instantaneously from place to place. Catching and killing it has therefore proven to be more than a little troublesome," she explained.

"Which is why we require your assistance," said the wizard-professor Xavier, rolling forward to meet Kitty. "Hello, Ms Pryde, I trust that you are well," he said.

"I'm fine," Kitty said, not looking up.

The wizard-professor responded within her mind, his mental tone understanding, _I am aware that you have been homesick for a while now, Kitty. It is understandable and natural. However, I must request that you concentrate upon our more immediate concerns in order to eliminate our most recent adversary._

Kitty nodded, speaking out loud, "Ms Munroe told me about the most recent demon attack. I want to eliminate this demon as soon as possible," Kitty's eyes glinted dangerously as she saw Professor Logan enter, "I have been practicing my lessons with the katana recently, and I really want to use them in order to shed demon blood," she said.

"Kid's got spirit, Chuck, can't deny that," said Professor Logan, who also went by the codename Wolverine, as he advanced towards the wizard-professor.

"Indeed," replied Xavier, "and I fear that Kitty may be our best chance to eliminate this evil, even though she is one of the least experienced members of the Academy," he said, his tone sad.

"I'm not afraid," Kitty replied.

The wizard-professor smiled sadly. "That is good, Kitty, as I am scared enough for us both. It is unwise for either of us to underestimate this demon, it can move from dimensions in an instant, and it is a ruthless killer, a monster. I believe that all that Professor Logan has taught you in the last few months may not be enough to vanquish this foe."

"Professor," said Kitty, putting up her hand, "I have been asking, been wanting an opportunity of this nature for months. Please don't fear for my wellbeing. Tell me all I need to know, and I will bring the demon's pelt to you, to hang upon your wall."

The wizard-professor sighed slightly, and shook his head in resignation. He reached into the draw of his desk, and pulled out a small painting, which he handed to Kitty. She examined it. The creature was blue, with eerie glowing yellow eyes, sharp fangs and a long spaded tail. "It's horrible," said Kitty, putting down the picture in disgust.

"This creature has been attacking travellers for some months now," the wizard-professor explained. "We believe that this is a fairly accurate picture of the demon. I have spoken to the Brotherhood of Protectors, but they have been unable to capture or contain the beast. It has a talent for movement, a talent that has no doubt been necessary in ensuring that it has survived this long. This creature can teleport a limited distance, can crawl up walls, and is as athletic as a monkey. It has stopped travellers, killed them, and taken their goods for its own." The professor looked up at where Kitty was giving the picture an uncertain look. "Now, I want to be sure that you are really ready for this, Kitty," he said kindly, "this being is a merciless killer, but I confess that I am dry of ideas concerning how else I am supposed to track and destroy this demon. Are you sure that you are equal to this task?"

Kitty did not have to be asked twice, "Absolutely, I'll kill this thing for you, the sooner it's no more, the better for everybody."

"Your enthusiasm is admirable, Ms Pryde," said the wizard-professor, "nevertheless, I must urge caution. We have reason to believe that this monster will attack tomorrow night at a fork in the road," he reached into his desk drawer once more, and pulled out a map, "about here. That is where we require one of our people to strike," he said, pointing to the specified location.

"The beast's a coward," said Logan, pointing to the painting with no small amount of disgust, "the creature only attacks those that appear to be weak and helpless, which is why it vanished in a puff of sulphurous smoke when the Brotherhood attempted to contain it. Yet if it sees a lonely traveller, one that it perceives as helpless," he smacked his hands together, "demon lunch, and murder in the news in tomorrow's paper," he said.

Kitty swallowed her fear, and then examined the map closely, "I understand," she said thoughtfully, "this monster will see me, a small, slight sixteen-year-old girl out on her own," she gave Logan a wicked smile, "seemingly helpless, a perfect target for this demon. Is that correct?"

"That is exactly correct, Ms Pryde," replied the wizard-professor, "although I must urge you once more not to underestimate this thing. A coward it might be, but we have been led to believe that it has near human intelligence."

"It's the element of surprise which is our greatest weapon," Logan added, "this thing is almost certain to attack what it perceives to be an easy target."

Kitty grinned wickedly, "Never dreaming that I will be crammed with swords and knives and a bow with arrows. This creature will quickly learn that attacking those that it perceives as weak and helpless is a very unwise decision. It will be the last thing that it ever knows."

The wizard-professor nodded. "That is the general plan, Ms Pryde," he said, "but I must urge you once more not to underestimate this creature. It might be a coward, but it is a merciless demon that has killed many times before. I must urge you to display every caution when dealing with this creature."

Kitty nodded, although she suspected that the wizard-professor was being unnecessarily cautious. "Do not worry, I won't let this thing hurt me. And by this time tomorrow, it will have learned that it is me that should not be underestimated," she added.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note – Before I write any more, I should make it clear that I do not own the X-Men (in any universe...unfortunately) and doubt very much that Marvel would be willing to give them to me if I asked. I am writing this story purely for my own enjoyment (and hopefully yours), and am not being paid for it. I am also writing this to hopefully improve on my own writing abilities, and so would appreciate any and all constructive criticism, regardless of how minor that criticism might be.**

**Now on with the story... **

_Chapter 2 - The Brotherhood_

Kitty was armed and ready to fight. Under her travelling cloak were numerous daggers, her trusty bow and arrows, and the katana which she had grown to love. She remembered all of Professor Logan's lessons perfectly, especially the more painful ones. But fighting with Logan was much safer than fighting with a real life actual demon. Logan might bruise and hit her, shame her and embarrass her within his training sessions, but Kitty knew that he would never seriously harm her, despite his threats and aggressive demeanour. This demon was different. This demon was a killer. Kitty had never killed anyone, but then, this demon was not human, it was a thing, a creature, and it deserved to die. Besides, Kitty reminded herself, holding on to her katana until her knuckles were white, if she did not kill the creature, it would kill her instead, and probably countless other travellers. Still, she felt less confident at the fork in the road, hidden in the shade of the trees, than she had done earlier. It was cold and already getting dark, and there was a hint of fog on the breeze. Kitty also missed the sounds of the city, with their constant buzzing activity. She had lived her entire life in the city, and found the sounds of nature, the wild, uncontrollable sounds of distant animals, strangely eerie, far away from the comfort of all she knew. She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself. The warnings of the wizard-professor echoed in her mind. This creature would show her no mercy if given the chance, so it would not be given the opportunity to attack her. She intended to attack the monster before it ever had a chance to realise that she was armed and trained. Still, in the cold night, alone and scared, she felt more like a lost and terrified teenage girl than a trained warrior and X-man.

Kitty's musings were interrupted, as she heard a rustling in the nearby bushes. Listening carefully, a lump in her throat and her heart hammering in her ears, she tightened her grip upon her katana, but did not increase her pace. The monster was supposed to attempt to attack her, after all, and it was only after the cowardly creature had attempted to kill her that she was to make it obvious that she was a trained demon-killer out for its blood.

A twig broke behind her, and Kitty, still rather nervous, turned around quickly. There was a cloaked being within the bushes. Kitty smiled to herself. So that was the monster, well her katana would be dirtied with demon blood pretty soon. She began making her way towards the figure, when she heard another creak of branches, this time from the opposite direction. Kitty turned around, and gulped when she realised that there was a second being that was slowly advancing towards her. No-one had mentioned anything about there being more than one demon. She spun around, only to see yet another hooded figure advancing towards her from another direction. Kitty grabbed a knife with her left hand, her right hand still clinging to the katana for dear life. Three against one; those were not good odds, even for an X-man who had been trained by Logan. Still, she could always phase through them if they proved too much for her to handle. She began to back away, unsure what to do for the best, and wanting to get enough space between herself and her adversaries so that she could aim her bow. She was just reaching for her bow when suddenly a fourth hooded figure leaped down from the trees and onto her back, knocking her face forward into the muddy path. Kitty growled slightly, feeling her attacker hitting her, then turned around, giving her attacker one very well aimed kick which sent the attacker through the air, screaming like a little girl, until it hit one of the trees.

The hood fell off of the dazed attacker, who held his head and gasped, trying to catch his breath. Kitty gasped too. Her attacker was human. Not only that, but she recognised him. He was one of the Brotherhood of Protectors, Todd, who had adopted the codename Toad, due to having powers similar to an amphibian. The boy could leap and climb trees with little effort. He also ate flies and smelt like a dead pig. Despite being a disgusting little man, there was no denying that he was human. X-men did not kill people, no matter how annoying and irritating they might be. Still, there was nothing to prevent her from beating him to a bloody pulp, as long as the damage was only temporary. "Todd?" said Kitty, barely able to contain her anger, "You're the Demon of Bayville?" she asked incredulously.

"Oh, my head!" muttered Todd, holding his head in his hands. "I can see stars. And pretty butterflies. Now they're talking to the stars, but the stars don't want to talk to them..." his voice trailed off into a painful moan, and it was clear that Kitty would get no coherent information out of him. Kitty was about to try and shake some sense into him, when the ground suddenly rumbled as though from an earthquake, and Kitty found herself once more flat on her face in the mud. Growling slightly, Kitty got to her feet once more, only to be shoved by another one of her attackers against a tree. This time she did not bother to talk, but merely reached for her katana, wielding it above her head. The blade came down, knocking her attacker to the ground. He was winded, but not seriously injured, as Kitty had been careful to used non-lethal force. Carefully, she pulled away the hood, revealing that he was another one of the Brotherhood of Protectors, and therefore human.

"She's seen too much, we're going to have to eliminate her!" Kitty turned around quickly, only to see a flash of colour pass before her eyes. This adversary spoke quickly, and moved with equal speed. She knew him from her previous encounters at the Brotherhood house. His name was Pietro, his codename was Quicksilver, but Kitty tended to refer to him as 'jerk' since he seemed to be the biggest irritation this side of the ocean. Pietro had moved with speed that Kitty could not hope to match, and she glared at him as she saw that he had already stolen one of her daggers and her bow and arrows. She tightened her grip upon her katana and her remaining knives. Pietro might be speed personified, but he did not have the strength to match, and he certainly would not see Kitty give in without a fight. The ground shook once more, but this time Kitty was able to remain standing. She had her suspicions concerning the identity of her fourth attacker, but she did not want to believe those suspicions. Besides, she was supposed to be hunting a demon, and these people were merely making that difficult. Were they not supposed to be demon-hunters too? Kitty moved towards Pietro, her katana held high above her head. She might not be allowed to kill him, but there was no reason why she could not give him a nasty fright. She scowled and prepared to bring her katana down in what she knew would not be a fatal blow. A hooded stranger pushed her away from Pietro, just as one of Pietro's arrows pierced her upper left arm. Finding that she was on the ground for the third time since the fight began, she kicked the hooded attacker, who landed unceremoniously on his rear in the mud. She began to pace towards him, but then found that her feet felt tired and heavy. Her vision was becoming cloudy, and there was a stinging sensation which began in her arm, and was making its way through her entire body. Still, this did not stop her from reaching the hooded figure, and removing the hood. Her suspicions were confirmed, just as she felt herself losing consciousness. "Lance," she said, her voice sounding groggy, "what are you doing here?" She felt her knees buckle under her, felt herself falling to the ground, something she was getting annoyingly used to, and felt her vision slowly fading into a grey haze.

"I told you, she's seen too much, we'll have to eliminate her," Kitty heard Pietro's voice once more, but found that she could do nothing to defend herself. The poison, or whatever it was, within the arrow, was having an effect upon her whole body, which felt as heavy as lead. Her mind felt no better, as it felt groggy and confused. She stared up helplessly as the images of Pietro and Lance swam in front of her vision. She was losing consciousness, that much was obvious, and Kitty, even through her groggy state of mind, realised that to do so could well be fatal. Gripping her katana with all of her strength, she tried one last desperate attempt to attack her opponents, but it was useless. Neither her muscles nor her mind seemed willing to do anything to defend her, and it was all that Kitty could do to avoid curling up into a ball and crying until unconsciousness and finally death came for her. The last thing that she expected to happen was for a dark shape to leap down from the trees, yellow eyes glowing as it growled, the light from the moon illuminating its strange, lithe form. Its fangs gleamed as it hit Lance, and grabbed Kitty in a surprisingly gentle embrace. Kitty tried to fight it, but her muscles refused to work, and she found herself unable to pull away from its arms. With a flash of yellow light, Kitty and the creature disappeared in a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 3 – First Meeting_

Kitty had no idea concerning how long she had been unconscious. Her head still hurt, but she was at least able to think. Lance and the other members of the Brotherhood of Protectors had attacked her. Why? Were not the Brotherhood and the X-Men on the same side? Kitty shook her head, trying to clear it. That was a mistake, as it felt like little bells were ringing inside her brain. With some trepidation, she opened her eyes. She was in a small but comfortable bed. Her arm was bandaged using some sort of silk cloth, but her arm nevertheless still hurt whenever she tried to move it. Where was she? And why was she here, wherever that might be? Kitty closed her eyes, trying to remember what had happened before she lost consciousness. The Brotherhood had attacked her, and then there had been something else. The demon, it had come to attack her too. It had grabbed her and used its foul magic to transport her here. But why would it do that? The creature always killed its victims; it never bothered keeping them alive. Did it want to feed on her later? Was this its nest? Kitty shuddered. Perhaps the monster intended to do experiments on her; after all, the wizard-professor had said that it had near human intelligence. Maybe it wanted to do all manner of horrible things to her. Kitty realised that she was hyperventilating. This creature might be pure evil, but it could still think and plan, and who knew the sorts of wants and needs that the demon might have. Kitty practically jumped out of bed, ignoring the sudden pain in her head and legs. She had to get out of here, and do it fast. She looked around the room, but there were no weapons anywhere to be seen. Well, that made sense, at least. The creature would be unlikely to leave her with swords which she could use in order to defend herself from its attacks. No swords, or knives, no bow and arrows were to be found anywhere within the room. That meant that she had to leave the room as soon as possible, get a weapon or two, and get out of this...place as soon as possible. She would come back later and destroy the demon, come back when she was feeling fit enough to stand up without support, come back when she felt well enough to fight.

"You shouldn't be out of bed."

Kitty froze when she heard the voice. It was not as if it was ominous or scary, in fact it was reasonably quiet, and even sounded slightly concerned. Still, it was the voice of the demon. Somehow, deep down inside, she knew that it was the voice of the Demon of Bayville. Kitty turned around, and gasped. The creature was crawling along the wall, and seemed to find doing so as simplistic a task as taking a stroll through a park. The creature appeared to be a big, black shadowy shape on the wall, a blot against the stonework, as it moved with the grace and deadly purpose of a spider, getting ever closer to where Kitty was watching it fearfully. More worryingly, Kitty could see that it had a katana – her katana – strapped to its back. As it got closer, Kitty could see that the creature was indeed the demon from the painting she had seen earlier. Its fur was perhaps a shade lighter, its hair slightly longer, and its smile maybe slightly more mischievous and playful, but there was no doubt that this was the same creature that the wizard-professor had shown her earlier within the painting.

"How's the arm?" it asked, its voice surprisingly cheerful. Kitty backed up and almost fell over the bed. The creature cocked its head to one side. "Still dizzy, huh? it asked. It moved closer, and then its horrible, furry hands were upon Kitty's arms. Those eerie yellow eyes stared up into her frightened brown ones. Kitty bit her lip as the creature gave her a mischievous grin, bearing two sharp fangs. "Guess I didn't manage to get all of the poison out. If only Margali were here, she could cure you in an instant. Still, there's no point pining for that which cannot be. I'm just going to have to deal with this the old-fashioned way, I guess." With that, the demon started to remove the bandage from Kitty's arm. Kitty froze, unsure what she should do for the best. Her muscles were still not working properly, and her brain seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. Still, she had no weapons, and it was probably best to err on the side of caution, and not to antagonise the demon until she could reach her katana.

The demon looked at her wound critically. "Curses, when did they get their hands on Romani magic?" it said, more to itself than to Kitty. It touched the wound, and to Kitty's surprise, its touch was actually very gentle. Kitty dared to look down to where its fingers were tracing the wound. It had only three furry fingers on/ each hand, although they were rather thick, and covered with soft blue fur. Kitty also noticed her wound, which had become an unsightly shade of green, and glowed very slightly in the dim light. The demon shook its head. "Nasty," it said, "if that isn't treated quickly, well, let's just say it won't be a good idea to start reading any long books any time soon." It grinned up at her. "Fortunately, I can probably heal this, although this will hurt at bit," it warned, then before Kitty could do anything, the creature had sunk its fangs into the wound, and was sucking out...something from within Kitty's arm. Kitty closed her eyes, feeling suddenly weak and sad. So this creature was going to drain her of blood like the vampires from the old legends. Worse, she had no way to defend herself, as she felt too weak to resist the creature. Even without weapons, she knew enough about hand-to-hand combat to be able to defend herself against most opponents, but her muscles were currently refusing to obey her, and she was unable to stand up unaided, let alone fight. Everything seemed so pointless and useless; she should have known that she was not ready to fight the demon, and now she was going to die a useless death at the misshapen hands of the monster. It seemed so unfair.

The demon spat out some...thing into a bowl by the side of the bed. The substance was a green gelatinous gloop, and it seemed to move with an ominous purpose. Strange, Kitty suddenly felt less depressed and morose than she had a moment ago, as she watched the gloop writhe within the bowl. She suddenly felt stronger than she had since she encountered the Brotherhood. She watched with narrowed eyes as the demon returned its fangs to her arm, and began sucking once more.

"Come back for seconds, have we?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes and keeping her sight upon the katana on its back.

The creature spat out the...whatever it was into the bowl, and grinned up at her. "Magic with poison," it said simply, "it's a bad combination. Still, I've been given certain gifts that allow me some crude but effective means of limiting its potency." It stared at her wounded arm a moment, then cocked its head to one side, and looked up at her face once more. "When it gets into your system, it makes you feel weak in body and mind, makes you doubt your own abilities and talents. It's been used a lot during the ages. The creature stroked the wound on her arm with surprisingly gentle, thick fingers. "I think I've removed all of it, but it is best that I put this on it, just to make sure." The creature reached inside the pocket of its shirt, and pulled out some small, green leaves. "These will be able to extract any poison that remains in there," it said, "still, it is for the best that I keep an eye on you for a few days, just to make sure that there's nothing horrible left inside that wound."

Kitty growled slightly. But her muscles and brain appeared to be working more efficiently than they had just moments ago. Her anger and frustration had, however, reached boiling point, "So I'm to be your prisoner?" she asked between gritted teeth.

The demon stepped back, its hands in the air in a submissive gesture, "No, not at all, I'm one of the good folk," it explained quickly, "you're my patient, not my prisoner."

Kitty growled, and attempted to reach for her katana. The demon, however, was too quick for her, and leapt to the far wall. To Kitty's annoyance, it started laughing. "I know what you think of me, and I know why," it said, inching closer to Kitty, "but you're been lied to and mislead. You will not be harmed as long as you remain here." The creature then looked down at her arm, its eyes surprisingly compassionate, as it said, "at least, not from me."

Kitty growled again, "You send people to kill me, you attack me, you imprison me, and you expect me to believe you are one of the good folks?" she snapped. "Give me back my sword!"

She lunged for the demon, but it was useless. It vanished in a flash of yellow light, followed by a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke, only to reappear hanging from the ceiling, her katana in its right hand. The creature laughed, "This?" it asked, waving the sword at her. "A good sword, Japanese, right?" it said, and leapt down. "Personally, I prefer foils, but each to their own." It sheathed the katana, and then produced three small foils, which it wielded, one in each hand, and the third with its tail, in an impressive display of swordsmanship. It sheathed the foils, and then calmly walked towards Kitty. "Listen," it said quietly, and it sounded really sincere, "if I was going to hurt you, don't you think I would have done so while you were unconscious? Why wait?"

Kitty merely growled, glaring at the creature. The demon shook its head. "I am not your enemy," it said, its voice quiet, but sincere.

"Well, someone attacked and killed all those people," Kitty growled.

"It was not me," the creature replied, "I could never kill anyone, I wouldn't, it's just not in my nature."

Kitty narrowed her eyes, seeing the demon smiling at her, its fangs gleaming. "Then who did?" she asked after a brief pause.

"You should have realised that already," the creature replied, walking up the walls calmly, "a number of mutual acquaintances of ours. You refer to them as the Brotherhood of Protectors. I have recently taken to referring to them as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants."

Kitty gasped slightly. She did not want to admit it, but that did seem to make sense. After all, it had been the Brotherhood who had attacked her. Still, the creature was an evil demon, doubtlessly an expert in deception and malice. She would not put it past it to shift the blame for its own crime onto others.

The creature watched her carefully. "You know I'm right," it said, staring at her seriously, "It was the Brotherhood who attacked those people, killed them, took their money. I was just a convenient scapegoat."

Kitty shook her head, not wanting to believe the demon's words. Still, she could believe just about anything of Pietro, but Lance? Never. He might be a little rough around the edges, but he was good deep down, she just knew it. He had a good heart; it was just that he had been mislead by Pietro and the others. Anyway, the rest of the Brotherhood members were not bad, not really. They just had rather too much youthful enthusiasm and high spirits. Kitty turned her attention back to the demon. "Then why the reports of you?" she asked. "I saw your picture, if you're nothing but an innocent scapegoat, why would they have a picture of you?"

"Did you like it?" the demon asked, grinning. "Personally, I thought it was quite a good likeness. A bit too much malice in the face, and perhaps it did not capture my innate good looks, but generally, well, the colours and the perspective were good, and all things considered, it was not a bad likeness of me at all."

Kitty growled, and the demon put up its misshapen hands. "I tried to help those people, sometimes, when I could," it explained. "The Brotherhood attacked, and I tried to save them. Sometimes I failed. Sometimes I didn't. And sometimes the victim was able to get a good look at me, but not enough information to realise that I was not an enemy," it looked down, holding its tail between its hands. "The monsters, that is, the real monsters, they usually aren't the ones with the pointed fangs and glowing yellow eyes and spaded tail. No, they're the ones with the ethereal grace, the almost unnatural beauty. The ones who make us think that we can trust them, by wearing the most beautiful faces." It reached out to touch Kitty's chin, but she flinched away. "It's a secret I really wish more people would realise, and I wish I could have warned you earlier. The victims of the Brotherhood raids, those that survived, and managed to get a good look at me," it sighed, "misinterpreted my motives. Thought, demon, monster, freak," it looked up into Kitty's eyes, its own begging, as it added, "enemy. This was helped by the Brotherhood themselves, of course. They were able to convince their victims, who were invariably confused and scared at this point, that I was the enemy, and that they were the heroes." It reached out to take Kitty's hand, but she pulled away. "You don't have to believe me, but what I say is the truth."

Kitty folded her arms. "Then why, if you are the enemy of the Brotherhood, have they not caught you by now?" she asked. "There's many of them, and only one of you."

The creature leapt onto the far wall. "Isn't it obvious?" it asked. "I'm too convenient a scapegoat to kill. They want to protect me, to keep me alive so that I make a perfect scapegoat for their activities. It's almost poetic, in a really weird way. Still, since the only thing we agree on is neither of us wants me dead, I'm not going to complain if they do their best to keep me alive."

Kitty shook her head, this was a lot to consider, and she still was not at all certain that she could trust the demon. "We don't kill people," she said, staring at the creature, "but we do kill things. I'm still not convinced that you're not some evil thing."

"Seems a bit hypocritical to me," said the demon, whistling quietly, "I mean, it's clear that these 'things' you hunt and kill, well, they have thought and motivation, sentience, the ability to feel pain and love. Yet it's considered fine to kill one of these, but it's wrong to kill a person for performing the exact same action." The demon shrugged. "Surely, if anything, the human is even more responsible? After all, the creature's supposed to be a soulless demon, unable to care or love, and is therefore just being itself. The human has no such excuse." The creature vanished in a bright yellow light, and a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke. An instant later, the demon was standing right in front of Kitty.

"You're trying to confuse me," she said, trying to get a good look at the katana on the creature's back. What was worse was that the demon was succeeding quite well, although she refused to admit that. "The wizard-professor said that you had near human intelligence, and now you're using it to confuse my mind."

The creature shook its head, and looked suddenly rather indignant. "Near human intelligence indeed!" it said, "What cheek! I'll have you know that I can speak three languages fluently, and two more passably well."

Kitty shrugged, "Well, you're a demon," she said, "I guess demons have special abilities."

"According to who?"

"What?"

"Who said that I was a demon?" the creature clarified.

"I'm a trained demon hunter," Kitty replied, but failed to mention that she had never actually killed or even met a demon before, "I think I should know what a demon is."

"Good. Go away and hunt a demon and leave me alone. Then we'll both be happy." The creature folded its arms over its chest.

Kitty stared at it for a long moment, allowing the implications of its statement to sink in to her brain. "You mean you're not...?" her voice trailed off.

The creature reached out to her once more, its eyes glowing, but they seemed strangely sincere. "Look," it said, clearly having calmed down considerably, "it's an easy mistake to make. I'm human, just like you."

The creature cupped Kitty's chin in its strange hands, and this time, she did not attempt to pull away. Its hands were soft, and covered in some strange, short blue fur, which felt almost like velvet. The creature locked eyes with Kitty. "I'm a mutant, just like you. But the mutations do not always grant great beauty." Kitty could not stop herself from blushing slightly, as the creature stared into her face, awe clearly showing in those strange, glowing eyes. "Sometimes our gifts come with a price attached. My gifts are many. I can teleport, climb up walls, hide in the shadows, and I have great agility. But my price is equally high. Like many second-generation mutants, I must wear my mutation on the outside, with fangs and fur and a tail." The creature cocked its head, and then gave Kitty a mischievous smile. "But then, do not kitty's have the same?" it asked meaningfully. "And no-one calls them demons, or thinks they are anything but adorable."

Kitty pulled away, feeling suddenly rather vulnerable. It could be just a coincidence, of course, but this creature seemed to know more about her than she did about it, and that made her feel rather awkward and uneasy. She felt suddenly strangely frightened and trapped. "How...?" she asked.

"I have a means to watch others," the creature explained, "I use it to spy upon the Brotherhood, see where they are next going to attack. I watched you being instructed on how to kill me, saw the wizard-professor give you instructions and advice. Kitty," it said, and she looked at the creature with a frightened expression upon her face, as it continued, "I could not let someone like you hate me, wanted to explain. When I saw the Brotherhood attacking you, I was impressed."

Kitty shook her head. "I spent half of the time face down in the mud," she said. Her mind still felt as if it was spinning, as she tried to contemplate all the creature had told her.

"Nevertheless, you took four of them on at once. I know you could have defeated any one of them individually, but the one thing the Brotherhood excels at is working as a team. I doubt that anyone could have defeated them all. Yet you stood up to them, stood your ground, even when injured." The creature indicated her arm.

"So you kidnapped me?" she asked.

"No," the creature replied, "that's not a normal wound. The hospitals and doctors, well, they can treat natural wounds well enough. But that's Romani magic. Only those raised by the Romani know the secrets of how to undo such curses. Fortunately," the creature pointed to itself, "A group of Romani adopted me, raised me as one of their own, and gave me enough skill to limit the power of such curses, although I confess that my talents in that area are severely limited." The creature stared into her eyes once more. "That's why you must stay here, at least for a few days. I have to be sure that my magic is enough to counteract its effect. With any luck, in a few days, there will be nothing left of the wound."

Kitty sat down on the bed. "My head hurts," she said. What she really wanted to do was sleep, but thought that doing so in the company of the creature would be a very bad idea. The creature reached out to her once more, holding her chin in its hands, as it had done before. Its yellow eyes shone. "I am not your enemy," it said, voice quiet and sincere, "and I really don't want you to be mine. You're so beautiful, so smart, so brave," the creature sighed, "I really don't want someone like you to hate me, especially as I have done nothing to deserve your hate."

Kitty could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and she was not sure why. "Prove it," she said quietly.

The creature looked down, then up at her, and grinned. "Just one moment," it said, before vanishing in flash of bright yellow light and a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke. Kitty coughed a little, and a moment later, the creature reappeared before her. In its hands, it held a small hand-held mirror. Kitty looked at it quizzically, as the creature held it out to her. "It's what I use to spy on the Brotherhood, and others when the need arises. I ask it to show me things, and it does. You can use it to check that all I've said is true." Kitty took the mirror gingerly. After a moment, the creature offered her an apple. "Forgot, you must be hungry," it said, "I'll gather us some more food, but this should tide you over until then."

Kitty had read too many tales about strangers offering young girls apples. "How do I know it's not poisoned?" she asked.

The creature shrugged. "I'm not going to poison you," it took a bite out of the apple, chewed it and swallowed it, "see? Delicious and nutritious." The creature grinned at Kitty.

Kitty shook her head. "How do I know that demon food is safe for people to eat?" she persisted.

"Well, I have no idea what demon food is, since I'm not a demon," the creature replied, "this is simply an apple, human food, and I'm fairly sure it's safe for people to eat, because I'm people."

Kitty reached out, then changed her mind, remembering the stories she had read. "Sorry," she said, "I just can't accept food that's come from I don't know where. You must understand the need to be cautious."

The creature locked eyes with her once more, and she noticed something within those eyes that she had not noticed before. A deep sadness, as though it...he was crying beneath his carefree smile. "Believe me, I know that need all too well," he said, his eyes shining with a sort of sad light, "but I'm not about to let you starve. Use the mirror. Ask it about me, and you'll see that all I say is true."

"How do I know you're not doing something to it, to make it show you in a positive light?" she asked.

The creature shook his head. "Ask it questions you know I cannot know, about your family and friends. And I will leave you alone to interrogate it, I must gather us our lunch in any case." He looked down, then up, his eyes meeting Kitty's once more. "Please, just give me a chance, that's all I ask," he said. Without another word, he vanished in a flash of bright yellow light and a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke, leaving Kitty alone in the room, with only her very confused thoughts for company.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part II – Nightcrawler's History**

_Chapter 4 – The Magic Mirror_

Kitty held up the mirror. It showed her reflection, including the faded bruises that she had sustained from her far too recent encounter with the Brotherhood, and it made her realise that she really needed to brush her hair. The mirror was gilded in a bronze coloured metal, and it was quite light, and cool to the touch. There did not seem to be anything special or particularly magical about the mirror, but Kitty knew for a fact that looks could be deceptive. After all, she looked like a slight, weak, sixteen year old girl, when she was in fact an X-man in training. She inched cautiously over to the window, the mirror still in her hands. The creature was out in the grounds, and seemed to be gathering fruit from the surrounding bushes and trees. He did not appear to be paying her any attention. Kitty turned her attention back to the mirror. "Show me my parents," she said. The mirror flashed once, and then it revealed a middle-aged couple, doing ordinary things in an ordinary house, chatting about mundane issues. Kitty felt suddenly ridiculously homesick. Her parents were getting on with their lives, which of course was well and good. Although they clearly missed Kitty, they were doing fine with just each other for company. They knew nothing about the training Kitty had received, the terrors she had endured, were unaware that she was currently cooped up in a strange, ancient castle with an equally strange companion. Kitty shook her head, trying to clear it. She asked the mirror to show her scenes from her childhood, the party she had been given on her sixth birthday, then the day she fell out of an oak tree, and finally the day she fell through the stairs and subsequently into the strange, wonderful, terrifying world of mutants and monsters. Well, the creature down there in the castle grounds could not have known about all of that, she reasoned, so the magic mirror seemed to be real enough. She pointed the mirror at the blue creature that was climbing a tree with what seemed to be incredible ease and grace. "Show me the important moments from his life," she said.

There was a flash of white light, and then Kitty saw a version of the creature within the mirror. He seemed to be slightly younger than the being she had recently met, but there was no doubt that he was the same creature. The being in the mirror wore a sparkling outfit, not completely unlike the black, yellow and red version worn by his older counterpart, except that this costume was covered in sequins and sparkles. The younger creature had his arms raised above his head, and he was in the centre of a spotlight. He was breathing heavily, as though nervous or excited. From far below him, a booming voice echoed throughout the huge tent. "And now, the moment you have all been waiting for! The death-defying feats of the Incredible Nightcrawler!" The cheers filled the tent, and must certainly have entered the pair of blue, pointed ears of the creature, who was apparently called the Incredible Nightcrawler. The creature seemed to be practically fuelled by the crowd's adoration. He leapt from a trapeze, performed an impressive summersault, and caught a pole with his tail. A rather pretty, blonde young woman leapt over to him, and within a moment, she was spinning in the air, and performing a rather impressive synchronised routine with the Incredible Nightcrawler. The young woman then performed leaps and jumps that were almost as spectacular as those of the Incredible Nightcrawler. Kitty watched, fascinated, as the Incredible Nightcrawler and the young woman performed their display of agility and acrobatic skill upon the trapeze, spending as much time in the air as they did upon the high wire. Kitty had seen a circus, once, when she had been around eight or nine years old, and at the time, she had been awed by the exploits of the performers. However, each and every one would have been shamed by the grace and agility of the Incredible Nightcrawler and his female companion. The crowd below applauded loudly, getting up from their seats and calling out praise to the performers, who bowed to their adoring fans. Kitty found that she too wanted to applaud, for she had never seen anything so spectacular. It seemed that the Incredible Nightcrawler had the mutant gift of incredible grace and agility, and this made him a perfect acrobat. It was clear that he loved his role, as the cheers from the spectators down below rose up towards him, and he took another bow. Kitty wondered what could have possibly made the Incredible Nightcrawler leave the circus, if he loved it so much, as the mirror slowly went dark.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note – Glad you like this story so far, and thank you so much for all the positive reviews. It is really great to know that there are people who are reading and enjoying my story, and I really do appreciate all constructive feedback. Now on with the story!**

_Chapter 5 – The Waterfall_

The mirror shone brilliantly once more, and then it showed the Incredible Nightcrawler, who was staring up at a tall waterfall. The landscape was beautiful, an idealistic scene of lush green trees and hills. As the Incredible Nightcrawler looked up, a tall, graceful and rather imposing woman approached him quietly. She had the look of one who had once been incredibly attractive, in her younger days. She had obviously retained remnants of her past appearance, despite having long passed middle age. She reminded Kitty of tall trees in the autumn, when their leaves began to change colours and fall to the ground. The trees were at their most glorious at that time, and it was obvious that they had strong roots and hidden depths, just as it was clear that this woman possessed great wisdom and strength. She had a demeanour of authority about her, but this was tempered with compassion and empathy. She put one hand on the Incredible Nightcrawler's shoulder, and he jumped in surprise, spinning around suddenly to face her violet eyes. "This is the third time this week that you have come back here," she said, her voice light and playful, but nevertheless with an accusing edge to it. "You need to practice your routine. Jimaine's patience is not eternal."

The Incredible Nightcrawler shook his head, looking down. "I am sorry, mother," he said, "it's weird, something seems to keep calling me back here, as though a memory, or a dream I barely remember. When I stare up at this waterfall," he shook his head, "it's as if it hides the secrets of my past."

The tall woman looked up at the waterfall, her old eyes sad, but she said nothing. The Incredible Nightcrawler continued, "I will try to make up for the time that I've been spending away from my circus duties, I assure you. But in exchange, I need to have answers." He locked eyes with the woman, brilliant yellow with ancient violet.

The woman was the first to look away, and seemed surprised at being forced to do so. "My precious son," she said, grabbing him in a gentle embrace, "dear Kurt, I know you must have many questions, but I fear that you may not be ready to hear the answers just yet."

"I'm ready," he replied, "I have to know."

The woman looked away, but nodded slowly. The Incredible Nightcrawler, who it seemed was also called Kurt, grabbed his tail in his hands, fidgeting with it uneasily. "I'm not really your son, am I?" he asked quietly.

The woman merely shook her head. "Not in blood, no, but I love you as much as I love Jimaine and Stefan."

"And this waterfall, why do I keep coming back here?" he asked.

The woman turned her attention back to the waterfall. "I would have thought you were too young to remember, but then again, memories can go back a very long way," she said. "When your brother and sister were small, we travelled through this town. I was gathering water for the circus troupe, when something at the foot of this waterfall caught my eye. I didn't know what it was, but I was curious, and I found you within the water, wet and cold, but not frightened. You stared up at me, confused and unsure, and I'm pretty sure that I felt the same way." She ruffled his dark hair playfully, and then continued with her tale. "Well, it was the middle of November, a cold autumn evening, and though I didn't know back then who and what you were, it was clear that I could not leave you by the waterfall, you would need to be dried off, for one thing, and anyway, I had to get back to my other children, and take the water back to the troupe." She chuckled quietly. "I'll always remember the way Stefan and Jimaine looked when they first saw you, unable to figure out what and who you were. Jimaine especially liked you from the start, although initially all Stefan wanted to do was pull your tail."

"He still does that sometimes," Kurt admitted.

"Well, once dried and given warm blankets, I had to figure out what to do with you," the woman said, "although it was obvious that Jimaine and Stefan wanted to keep you, since you would be a new playmate for them, and a little brother. I spoke to the other members of the circus troupe, asking if they had heard anything that might connect you with your parents. It was obvious that you were only a few days old, which suggested that your mother might not be far away, and was probably confused and scared. No-one seemed to have heard anything that connected you to your birth family, however, although everyone agreed that they would keep alert for any possible clues or information connecting you to your parents. Among others, I spoke to Kurt, the clown, who said that in the circus where he worked before he joined our circus, there were a number of mutants who had unusual appearances. Unfortunately, they had not been treated well, and had been kept in cages where they were used as members of the freak show. I was determined that nothing like that would ever happen to you." She sighed quietly. "Oh, there had been mutants in my circus before, some of the acrobats and at least one of the fire-eaters were mutants, but they all looked human enough. According to Kurt the clown, a second-generation mutant is more likely to look less human than a first-generation mutant, although there is no hard and fast rule."

Kurt looked up at her, his eyes shining, as she continued with her story. "Well, I named you after the clown, as a sort of tribute or thank-you gesture. I was glad to know that you were human, as a part of me had feared that you might be a young demon, or other monster, but I really should have known better." The woman gave a small smile. "Well, the rest, you know. I raised you with Jimaine and Stefan, and it was soon obvious that you had a great talent for acrobatics, since you were always climbing up walls to reach toys in the middle of the night. I'm not sure exactly when we settled on the stage name Nightcrawler, but the name just sort of stuck." She hugged the boy to her chest, and he smiled contentedly as she continued with her tale once more. "We never did find out about your biological parents, but, selfish though it no doubt is, I am glad of that. They would have tried to take you away from us, and I know I could not have let you go easily. I will never know what great, divine power sent you to us that day, but I thank it, whatever it may have been. My child, my precious Kurt," she pulled away slightly, so that she could look him in the eyes, "you've turned this circus around. Before you arrived, it was a fairly average circus, barely making ends meet. Now people from all over the world come to see the Incredible Nightcrawler perform, to be awed by his skill and talents."

"Much better than being in a cage and a freak show," Kurt said quietly.

The woman laughed, "I should hope so. But that does not mean that you should be allowed to shirk your responsibilities," she chided lightly, "Jimaine has been waiting ages to practice her routine with you, even if you can out-perform her on the high wire at every turn."

"I'm sorry, I'm coming," Kurt said, "besides, Jimaine may be no match for me on the high wire, but she's much better than me when it comes to Romani magic."

The elderly woman seemed to freeze for an instant upon hearing that. "Your sister has been teaching you Romani magic?" she asked, her tone not quite accusing, but cautious nevertheless.

Kurt shrugged, "Yes," he said, and then added, "is that wrong?"

"No," the elderly woman admitted after a rather long pause, "not in and of itself, not necessarily. But magic is a potentially dangerous tool, as I found out to my cost in my youth. It should not be used lightly, nor seen as the solution to problems which could be solved using other, much less dangerous methods."

"It's just little stuff," Kurt replied, "nothing big and fancy like the sorcery I've seen you using. A couple of healing spells, undoing a curse or two, some simple levitation, that's all."

The elderly woman seemed to relax a little when she heard that. "Very well, Kurt, but please be cautious. Magic is a great servant, but a terrible master, and so many seemingly strong men have allowed magic to control them when they failed to control their magic. Just promise me that you will be careful when using Romani magic, that is all I ask."

Kurt merely nodded, and the elderly woman smiled at him. "Right now, we've both done a lot of talking and getting things off of our chests, while poor Jimaine is waiting, doubtlessly impatiently, to practice the new routine. It's about time we got back to the circus, don't you think?" she asked, giving Kurt a wink.

Kurt nodded once more, and as they headed back to the circus, the magic mirror went black.


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt was in his caravan, putting the final touches to his make-up, when there was a knock at the door. The young mutant looked startled for a moment, and then he called out, "Who is it?" before turning his attention back to his mirror.

"Some adoring fans who want to give you gifts."

With no small amount of confusion on his face, Kurt opened the door to the caravan an inch or so, and spied half a dozen people waiting outside. One of them was holding a bouquet of orange flowers. Obviously feeling rather flattered, Kurt opened the door a bit wider, and stepped outside cautiously.

"Hey, you're still in costume," one of the crowd commented.

Kurt looked confused and rather anxious, as he rather absently reached for the bouquet of flowers. Fortunately, help arrived from within the confines of the caravan.

"Kurt, what did I tell you about answering the door to strangers?" asked a rather handsome, tall blonde youth. He gave the awaiting crowd a dazzling smile. It was clear that this was the sort of person who could charm his way out of the sort of trouble that he could charm himself into in the first place. He gently took the flowers from Kurt's hands, and turned his attention to the slightly confused crowd. "You must forgive my little brother," he said, flashing another brilliant smile, "despite being a seasoned performer unmatched throughout Europe, when actually confronted by strangers, he can be surprisingly shy. And as for the costume," he gave a theatrical sigh, "many of the acrobats don't change costumes between performances, simply put, it takes too long. Have you any idea how long it takes to get everything ready for our shows? Everything has to be just perfect in order to deliver the performances that you, our loyal fans, truly deserve. That means lots and lots and lots of preparation." He seemed to examine the crowd, as though checking that they were convinced by his words. He gave another theatrical sigh. "That means spending a lot of time practicing, in make-up, and in costume. And that means that our performers can't always be expected to be out of costume whenever you wish to contact them, particularly our star performer." He indicated Kurt, who wore an expression of confusion and uncertainty. The older boy continued, "While I thank you on my brother's behalf for the kind gift of the flowers, which I assure you, will be placed in water and treated with the respect that any gift from our adoring fans deserve, I must urge you to leave now. The Incredible Nightcrawler has much to do before the show, and much as I would love to be able to allow him to bask in his much deserved glory, he does have responsibilities which need to be performed." He bowed to the small crowd politely, but made it clear that they were required to leave. They did so, mumbling amongst themselves. As they left, a tall and handsome man with dark brown hair gave the Incredible Nightcrawler a rather too knowing look, before reluctantly following the others. Kurt's brother gave a small sigh, and then led Kurt back inside the caravan, slamming the door shut behind him.

"You didn't have to be so rude to them," said Kurt quietly, taking the flowers from the older boy's hands.

"I wasn't," he replied, "but I had to get rid of them, Kurt, they were starting to ask awkward questions."

"They were only going to give me flowers, Stefan," Kurt replied, looking suddenly rather sad as he held the flowers out for his brother to examine, "they were only giving me a present. You did not have to send them away." Kurt put the flowers in a vase of water, smiling slightly to himself. "I think they're quite pretty," he said, more to the flowers than to Stefan.

"Kurt, please listen to me," Stefan sounded worn and defeated, "those people are strangers. Strangers bearing gifts. Probably harmless, awestruck fans who just wanted to show their appreciation of your talents." He bent down, put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, and looked into his yellow eyes. "But what if they weren't? What if they wanted to trick you using a gift as a means to gain their trust, abduct you, hurt you or worse?" he asked him quietly.

"They only wanted to give me flowers," Kurt replied, sniffling slightly, "and anyway, why would anyone want to hurt me?"

"Goodness Kurt, do I have to spell it out?" Stefan yelled so loudly that Kurt's acrobatic partner must have heard, as she cautiously made her way from the back of the caravan towards the noise. Stefan did not seem to notice her as he continued, "You look like a demon Kurt! What with the pointy ears and fangs and tail! That's reason enough for some of the villagers to want to burn you at the stake!"

"They were just giving me flowers," Kurt said again, clearly close to tears, "and they didn't seem mean. I thought they were actually quite nice looking really."

Stefan banged his fist on a table, making Kurt jump slightly. Then he shook Kurt, tears in his own eyes, "You really don't get it, do you?" he snapped, clearly barely containing his temper, "the true monsters aren't the ones with the pointy fangs and long tails and ugly attitudes! They're the handsome ones, the charming ones, the ones that make you feel sorry for them, they're the ones you really have to fear. Because they make you want to trust them, and so you do, and before you know it you'll be nothing more than a lifeless trophy hanging on someone's wall!" He slapped Kurt across the face, leaving an ugly red mark.

There was a moment of absolute silence, with both Kurt and Stefan staring at each other in complete shock. Then Stefan broke down suddenly, crying in Kurt's arms. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to do that," he said through his tears, "but I've got to make you understand somehow. The world outside the circus, it's not like it is in here. People can be cruel and selfish and if they saw you as you are now, well, you've heard the stories of namesake, Kurt the clown. All those tales about mutants kept in cages in freak shows, that could happen to you, Kurt, if people were to see you."

"They see me every night," Kurt replied, hugging Stefan back, "under the spotlight, they watch me perform. It's not like a stay hidden."

Stefan pulled away, wiping tears from both of their eyes, "But that's just it, Kurt," he said, "you do stay hidden, even when you are the centre of attention, even with the spotlight focused on you, you are still hidden from the crowds. I mean the real you," he added, seeing Kurt's confused look, "they think this is a costume, and as long as they think that you're nothing more than a extremely talented acrobat in a strange costume, you'll be safe. But if they were to suspect that you're not, that you're more," he paused, hugging Kurt to himself, "I may not always be around to keep you safe."

"I'll be more careful in the future, I promise," Kurt replied, "but you really didn't have to lie to those people."

Stefan pulled away, and winked, smiling through his tears, "But I didn't," he said, ruffling Kurt's hair fondly, "I merely told them that our acrobats took ages to prepare themselves and that they didn't always change between performances." He grinned, "That's the truth. If they want to lie to themselves that you are just another one of those acrobats in a costume, well, that's their problem, not mine," he said.

Kurt smiled, and Stefan began to stroke the mark on Kurt's face, guilt written all over his own face as he did so, "I'm really sorry for hitting you," he said, "but I have to make you understand somehow. I'm your big brother, and that means it's my responsibility to keep you safe." He pulled Kurt into a hug once more, "Even if that means beating you to within an inch of your life in order to ensure that you don't get hurt!"

Kurt's acrobatic partner burst out laughing upon hearing that. Kurt turned around in confusion, "Jimaine, how long have you been there?" he asked, but she was too busy laughing to respond, as the magic mirror once more faded to black.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Glad you like this story so far. Both Kitty and Kurt are a combination of their Evo and comic (especially **_**Excalibur**_**, when they were both at their best) versions. Hopefully Kitty will be closer to her Evo version in Part 3, when she begins to trust and like Kurt. There's, quite a few chapters to go before I get to Part 3 however, with Kitty seeing that Kurt has had to endure some pretty horrible things in his life. This story is essentially a fairy-tale, **_**Beauty and the Beast**_** using X-Men characters that are a combination of their Evo and comic versions, and as such it is happening in a sort of mediaeval/fantasy setting, but one that also has some more modern elements that would not have been there during our Middle Ages. In the **_**Excalibur**_** comics, Kitty, Kurt and their companions visit a universe which has many mythological elements, such as magic and dragons, but which also has many modern elements as well. This is that sort of Alternative Universe, one where both magic and mutants are a (grudgingly) accepted part of life, although many people neither like nor trust mutants nor magic. I hope that clears up any confusion. **

**Margali, Jimaine and Stefan are all characters from the X-Men comics, and so they do not belong to me. The antagonist Morttoten, however, is my own character, so if you want to use him, please ask my permission first.**

**Now on with the story;**

_The wizard Morttoten_

"You should not have come here alone," Jimaine said, as she saw Kurt staring up at the waterfall.

Kurt turned around, and smiled at her. "There's no-one here, and I'm being careful. But I can't wait all the time for someone to be free to accompany me places."

"You want Stefan to hit you again?" Jimaine replied, stroking the fading mark on Kurt's cheek, "because he will if he finds out that you've been going off alone again. What's more, I can't really say that I blame him."

"You can't watch me every hour of every day," Kurt reasoned, "and it's not like I'm far away from the troupe," he pointed towards where the circus was set up in a nearby field, "anyway, someone had to go and get water."

Jimaine shook her head, clearly not convinced. "You're our star performer, the Incredible Nightcrawler," she reminded him, "that means that you don't need to worry about ordinary things like that. There are other performers who can do those sort of tasks."

Kurt put his hands on his hips, and gave Jimaine a sceptical look. "So because I spend ages on the high wire, I should be above such things as carrying and fetching water, is that it?" he asked.

"Yes," Jimaine said, raising her hands in exasperation, "at least when that means you going off alone all by yourself. Stefan's terrified that something terrible will happen to you if he lets you out of his sight for a minute, and quite honestly, I don't blame him."

Kurt put his hands onto Jimaine's shoulders, as though trying to calm her down. "You have to stop worrying about me all the time," he said, "I'm fine."

"We want to ensure that you stay that way. That means you not going off by yourself."

Kurt sighed, "You've been speaking to Kurt the clown again, haven't you?" he asked.

"Well, yes," Jimaine admitted, "but that doesn't mean that we don't have reason to be worried. Look, he said that at his old circus the mutants in the freak show, well, they were treated like freaks, like animals, and in the end, they became little more than animals. They spent years in hospital after the circus was closed down, and they never did fully recover from what they had been through. It was years before they could do normal things, you know, just talk and walk upright and do all the normal activities that we just take for granted. Because they had been treated like freaks for so long, they had come to believe that they were freaks." She put her hand on Kurt's cheek once more, "I couldn't stand it if something like that were to happen to you. None of us could," she said quietly.

"Jimaine," said Kurt, taking her hand in his, "it's sweet that you're all worried about me, really. But those tales from Kurt the clown, well, they happened more than twenty years ago, things are different now. People are different. Better, more accepting."

Jimaine shook her head. "Human nature doesn't change that quickly," she said darkly, "people still fear and hate what they perceive to be different."

Kurt smiled at her. "Then we just have to teach them not to," he said quietly. "We have to be better than them, better than ourselves, to show them that it's possible to live without hate and anger."

Jimaine shook her head once more. "Sometimes I swear Mother Margali adopted you right out of an idealised fantasy story," she said with a laugh. "It's as if she went back in time and took you from a much more romantic age that probably never even existed."

Kurt gave a little laugh, before turning his attention back to the waterfall. "No, it was here," he said, "this is where she found me, this is where the secrets of my past are located. One day I'm going to try to find them."

Jimaine looked up at the waterfall, and sighed to herself. "I barely remember that day; I was very small," she said, "but whatever the secrets this waterfall once held, well, they're pretty much hidden by now. Margali said that she looked for your mother for weeks, but never found anything that allowed her to find her, so simply adopted you as her own."

"And everyone else in the circus also looked, and there was not a trace," Kurt replied, stepping closer to the waterfall, "I know, I've heard. But the secrets to my past, my parents, they couldn't just vanish into thin air, could they?" he asked. "The waterfall, it's the secret to my memories, I'm sure of it."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Jimaine admitted.

Kurt turned back to her. "I've been researching old tribal legends and myths," he explained, "there are some ancient tribes that believe that really old things, like rocks and mountains, they have a sort of memory within them."

"That doesn't make any sense," Jimaine admitted, "they're not alive."

"But water is," Kurt said, "at least, it's used to sustain life, which is sort of the same thing. If rocks can have memories, why can't water? And if water has memories, then the memories to my past are here, inside this waterfall. I just have to figure out how to access them."

Jimaine sat down on the grass by the waterfall, and looked up at Kurt. "Aren't you happy in the circus? Aren't you happy living with me, Margali and Stefan?" she asked, her tone vulnerable.

"Yes," Kurt assured her, his own tone certain. "Always," he reached up to the red mark on his face, "well, mostly," he amended, "you're all my real family." He sat down beside her, and began pulling up a few handfuls of grass in his misshapen hands.

"But we're not your blood family," Jimaine finished, a knowing smile on her face.

Kurt nodded. "Yes," he said, "I love you all, but I have to know the secrets of my past, and I get the feeling that the water in this waterfall might hold them."

Jimaine gazed at the waterfall for a long moment before she spoke. "Even if the water could somehow remember, that's not the same waterfall as the one Margali pulled you out of all those years ago."

"It's not?" Kurt asked her in confusion. "I thought it was," he looked up at the waterfall once more, giving it a critical look.

Jimaine shook her head. "It is, but it isn't," seeing his confused look, she clarified, "the water's always flowing, always changing, it is the nature of all things. The water which delivered you to us could be half a world away by now," she said quietly.

"But there must be a way for me to get answers." Kurt stared up at the waterfall, a deep longing in his eyes. "Someone, something must be able to tell me about me," he said quietly.

"Yes," Jimaine put a hand upon his shoulder, "but it's not the waterfall, and your parents are not here. I'm here, Stefan's here, Margali's here, and we're all worried about you. If I knew how to find out about your blood relatives, I'd do all in my power to try to contact them, but I don't know that keep returning to this waterfall is going to help you find the secrets of your past." She shook her head sadly. "Let's just finish collecting the water and return to the troupe."

Kurt gave her a small smile, and got to his feet. "And as usual, my big sister is the voice of reason and common sense," he said, "but some day, I'm going to find answers to the questions that have been plaguing me for so long," he added.

Jimaine looked like she was about to reply, but all of a sudden she became completely still, a worried expression in her eyes. "We're being watched," she whispered to Kurt, and then she moved slowly to where six people were watching them from the bushes. Obviously noticing that they had been spotted, the people emerged from their hiding place. One of them was the tall, handsome man who had earlier given Kurt the orange flowers.

Jimaine stared at the tall, dark and handsome man, her expression sceptical. He was wearing ridiculous robes which were covered in symbols of silver stars and white moons. His robes were long and black, and reached down past his immaculately polished black shoes. He was also wearing a triumphant expression, as he pointed to where Kurt was cautiously picking up two buckets of water. The strange man seemed to regard him with intense loathing as he spoke. "See, my brethren," he said, his tone triumphant, "I, the great and powerful wizard Morttoten, have managed to locate the evil demon, there it stands, on the edge of the waterfall, not even attempting to hide itself from real people."

"Oh for crying out loud," muttered Jimaine, putting her hands to her head in no small amount of agitation, "I knew something like this would happen someday."

The wizard Morttoten took no notice, and instead addressed his followers. "I knew it was not a costume the first time I set eyes upon the creature," he said, his voice far louder than could possibly be necessary, "but they would not believe me, the doubters, the sinful ones," he puffed himself up with obvious self-importance, and ignored Jimaine tapping her foot in obvious impatience, "what better place to hide than in full sight within the Szardos Circus, where better to disguise its infinite evil from all real people than in full view, where real people can be fooled into thinking it is nothing more than an act?"

Jimaine tapped him on the shoulder, and it was obvious that she was not in the least bit impressed by his pompous attitude. "Look, Mister Let's-Get-Rid-Of-The-Evil-Now," she said sarcastically, "my little brother and myself are merely gathering water for the circus troupe. If you want an autograph, all you have to do is ask. Otherwise, leave us alone, and we shall respond in kind."

Morttoten puffed himself up some more, his face slowly becoming the shade of an over-ripe tomato. He turned back to his followers, who were merely shrugging and muttering amongst themselves. Morttoten pointed towards Jimaine. "See how the demon even has the circus members themselves fooled by its evil?" he said, putting his hands upon Jimaine's shoulders. She glared at him, but said nothing as he continued, "What I do now, I do for the sake of you, gentle maid," he said, ignoring the fact that Jimaine's hands were currently made into tight fists. Morttoten pointed at Kurt, who was watching the scene with an expression of dumfounded annoyance written over his face. Morttoten then spoke strange words in a guttural language that Kitty did not understand, and streaks of lightning shot from his fingertips.

"No!" Jimaine's eyes widened in fear, and then she pointed her own hands at the spell that was rapidly approaching Kurt. Quickly, she muttered an incantation, and both spells hit Kurt at the exact same moment. Kurt fell to the ground, screaming in pain as he dropped the buckets of water, and then he lay motionless on the grass.

Morttoten glared in triumph, but his triumphant expression faded as soon as he saw the murderous look in Jimaine's eyes. Jimaine began hovering about two feet above the ground, lights flashing all around her, and her eyes suddenly became totally white. She turned to Morttoten's followers, and her voice was as dark and foreboding as a thunderstorm as she spoke to them. "Anyone of you who wishes to leave me now, may do so," she said, magic glowing all around her, "this is your one and only opportunity to leave here unharmed. Stay, and I will not be responsible for my actions."

Morttoten's companions looked at each other in terror, before clearly deciding that they would prefer to be living cowards than dead heroes. They ran away at quite impressive speeds, Jimaine glaring after them as they went.

"You fools," Morttoten said, getting closer to Jimaine and pointing at her accusingly, "don't you see? She's a demon too, that's why she has all of these demonic powers. In the name of all that is holy and good, come back here right now."

His companions, however, had far too much sense than to return to where Jimaine continued to glow with magical energy. Jimaine gave Morttoten the full attention of her wrath. "My offer holds for you, too," she said, barely containing her anger, "leave now and you will not be harmed. Otherwise, expect no mercy!"

"You do not frighten me, witch!" he replied. "You're evil magic is no match for my own righteous power, even now, your demonic companion lies dead and defeated due to my holy magic, and I do not intend to treat any of the evil powers with any mercy, I will never back down, and I will never surrender to your evil ways."

Jimaine's anger obviously fuelled her punch, as did the magic that was glowing all over her body. That was surely the only way in which she could have possibly been able to knock Morttoten out in a single blow. Jimaine dropped to the ground, and examined Morttoten cautiously, clearly as surprised as he was by her own strength. She rubbed her hand absently. "Ouch," she muttered. It was clear that part of her wanted to get revenge on Morttoten for hurting Kurt, but she realised that Kurt himself required her more immediate attention. She pulled Kurt onto her lap, and her anger seemed to lessen as she stroked his hair absently. "Kurt, can you hear me?" she asked.

There was no response. Jimaine bit her lip, clearly unsure what she should do for the best. She put her hands to her head, and closed her eyes. "Mother," she said, and although her voice was nothing more than a whisper, Kitty got the distinct impression that she was attempting to telepathically communicate with someone far away, "come quickly. The waterfall. Something bad has happened to Kurt."

There was a flash of white light, and Margali arrived in a cloud of green smoke. She stood over Kurt and Jimaine, her eyes glowing a brilliant, bright green. "This had better be important, child," she said, "I do not like using my magic to materialise from place to place unless it is of the utmost necessity."

"It is. It's Kurt," Jimaine replied. Upon hearing that, Margali's attitude suddenly changed from powerful sorceress to concerned mother in an instant. She dropped to her knees next to her children, and grabbed Kurt's wrist, clearly feeling for a pulse.

"What happened to him, Jimaine?" she asked.

Jimaine pointed to the unconscious Morttoten laying a few feet away from them. "He happened," she explained, tears in her eyes, "he thought Kurt was some sort of evil demon, so tried to do the Instant Death Spell."

"And how did you respond?" asked Margali, her tone stern but reasonable.

"I did the Lessening Spell, the Non-Fatal Spell," she explained, tears falling down her cheeks, "to make sure that the spell wouldn't kill him. But the spells both hit at the same time, so I don't know if I did any good."

Margali smiled, and put her hand upon her daughter's shoulder. "You did the right thing, my dear one," she said, "and your spell certainly worked. Kurt is merely unconscious, doubtlessly the result of having two spells hit him at once. I doubt that even I could remain conscious under those circumstances. Still," she turned her attention back to Kurt, "I would like the doctor to examine him back at the troupe, just to make sure that there are no residual side effects. But that can wait for the moment," she got to her feet suddenly, and strode over to the unconscious Morttoten. "What did you do to him?" she asked.

"I punched him in the face," Jimaine replied.

Margali clearly could not hide an amused grin as she turned her attention to Jimaine. "You did what, daughter?" she asked.

"I punched him in the face," Jimaine repeated, "I hit him, and knocked him unconscious. He was annoying anyway. Far worse, he tried to kill Kurt. I was angry, and fuelled with magical wrath."

"So you punched him in the face when fuelled by magic," Margali finished, clearly trying to hide her amusement, "and I am sure you are aware that it is my duty as a sorceress to inform you that using your magic to fuel revenge is opening the door to all sorts of horrible possibilities, that magic should be respected, never abused, and never used when other methods would be better utilised."

"Yes, Mother," Jimaine looked down at the ground.

Margali lifted her chin up, and winked at her. "However, I won't. Under the circumstances, I believe that your action was excusable. I am not sure that I would have done anything differently, if faced with the same problem."

Jimaine merely smiled at her mother. Margali treated her to a mischievous smile of her own. "However, the fact remains that I am right about not abusing your powers. Still, right now, Kurt's welfare is our priority." Margali reached down and picked Kurt up, holding him as if he were a very young child. Margali smiled at his unconscious form, and suddenly she was floating a few feet above the ground. Her appearance changed, as lights began to shine around her. Margali's skin became a pale green, her hair became longer, and the colour of oak leaves. Two horns grew out of her head, and she would have looked quite terrifying if it were not for the compassionate look in her glowing green eyes, as she stared down at Kurt. "You are lucky to be alive, my son," she said, touching his forehead with her finger. A small spark of light left her finger, and seemed to enter into Kurt's head. Kurt stirred slightly, and blurrily opened his eyes, looking up at Margali with some confusion.

"Mother?" he asked, sounding surprised at seeing her in her elegant green form.

"Yes," she said quietly, "you have not seen me in my full power before, there has been no need. You survived a potentially deadly spell, due to your sister ensuring that it would not be fatal. But few can take the pressure of two spells hitting at the same time, and still remain conscious. How do you feel?"

"Tired," he replied, "confused. Angry at the man who tried to kill me and called me a demon."

"All of that is to be expected," Margali said quietly, "rest now." She placed him tenderly back on the ground, and once more placed her finger upon his forehead. He closed his eyes once more, but this time his chest moved steadily up and down, and it was clear that he was enjoying a restful sleep. "It is best that he rests for now," Margali said, turning her attention to Jimaine, "I used to use that spell on him when he was very small, and absolutely refused to sleep at night, when he would instead spend all night crawling up the walls and along the ceiling of the caravan." She sighed, brushing a small strand of dark hair from his eyes. "My little Nightcrawler, I have been afraid that something like this would happen to you from the day I found you."

"What about him?" Jimaine pointed to Morttoten, who was still lying unconscious on the ground.

Margali walked over to him, and lifted his arm, clearly feeling for a pulse. "He's alive," she said, "was he alone?"

"No," Jimaine replied, "there were five others with him, but I don't think we need to worry about them. I scared them off with my magic, and they ran away when I gave them the opportunity to do so."

"Ah," Margali replied knowingly, "the sort who merely follow the charismatic leader, but leave as soon as things look to be getting harsher than they originally expected. You are probably right, I doubt that they will be a serious threat." She turned her attention back to Morttoten. "You, my friend, however, I suspect that you are a different sort entirely. Let me have a look inside your mind, see the way in which it works, try to understand your motivation a bit better, shall I?" She placed her hands upon his temples, in a gentle but firm gesture. Her eyes suddenly became completely white, her hair whipped around her, even though there was no wind, and lights flashed all around her tall, elegant form. Jimaine watched uncertainly, as Margali seemed to have found what she had been looking for. Margali reached up to her own head, placing it within her hands. "I have met those who think like this before, daughter," she said, her voice soft and sad, "they are the most terrifying sort of enemy. People like this, they cannot be reasoned with. They have an idea in their minds, and it cannot be removed by reason or logic or even magic. This one has got it into his head that Kurt is an evil demon, and nothing you or I say will convince him otherwise."

"Then what should we do, Mother?" Jimaine asked.

Margali stared at him for a long moment. "We don't kill," she said thoughtfully, "although if it is the only way to keep Kurt safe, I am prepared to ignore that rule, just this once."

Jimaine bit her lip as she looked down at Kurt. "It would be worth it," she said, "and anyway, he's an arrogant, ignorant hypocrite who abuses his magic. I say he deserves to die."

Margali turned on her, suddenly glaring at her in fury. "And who has the right to decide such things, may I ask?" she demanded. "You? Me? I have no doubt that he is all that you say, but that does not excuse us of committing an execution, a murder." She seemed to calm down significantly when she saw Kurt, peacefully sleeping on the ground. She turned her attention back to Jimaine. "Considering what he attempted to do to your brother, you have a right to hate him, to want revenge, but there are those who already consider us monsters, do you want to prove them correct? No, I know another way. It is morally questionable, but at least it will not involve anyone being seriously hurt or killed."

"What is it Mother?" asked Jimaine.

Margali sighed, and looked down at Kurt, her eyes tired. "I can do a spell, convince everyone else in the village that we never came here, erase their memories of us ever entering this area. Then we can leave, as silently as ghosts, leaving not a trace that we were ever here at all," she said, "it's not something to be undertaken lightly, and I do not like altering others memories, but I think it is the best option available to us right now. Then we leave, cross the border, and it will be as if we were never here at all."

Jimaine nodded thoughtfully. "But what about him?" she asked, pointing to Morttoten.

Margali merely shrugged, looking at him dismissively. "What about him? The spell won't work on a mind like his, but perhaps he will begin to question his own experiences, if they cannot be confirmed by others. If no-one else here can remember that we ever visited, perhaps it will only be a matter of time until he begins to wonder if our circus was nothing more than a dream."

"It seems wrong, somehow, altering everyone's memories like that," Jimaine said, shuffling uncomfortably, "can't we just drown this man in a river?" she asked, pointing at Morttoten.

"No, we do not kill, not when any other option exists," Margali replied sternly. She looked away for a moment, calming herself down considerably. "And you are right, changing people's memories is not something which should be undertaken lightly, not without considering all of the consequences involved. But I doubt that people forgetting that the Szardos Circus coming here will have long term negative effects upon their mental wellbeing."

Jimaine looked down at her feet. "You are right, Mother, as usual," she muttered quietly.

Margali put a hand on Jimaine's shoulder, then reached down and gently lifted up Kurt. "Of course I am right," she said, "now come on, let's get back to the troupe, everyone must be wondering why we have been gone so long. Besides, it is best that I perform the spell from within the circus itself, and if we hurry, we should be able to leave by nightfall."

That was the last word that Kitty heard before the mirror went black once more.


	9. Chapter 9

_Margali's Spell_

Kurt stared out of his caravan window. The circus troupe were all busily dismantling the circus, taking down tents, fetching and carrying various pieces of circus equipment, and generally clearing the area. It was a sombre affair, with people rarely talking to each other, and when they did, their conversations were limited to where certain objects should be placed and stored. Jimaine entered the caravan, and came over to where Kurt was staring out of the window. "You're not missing much," she said, looking out at the circus troupe, "everyone's barely said a word to each other."

"I should be out there," Kurt said, looking down, shame and guilt written all over his face, "I'm the reason we have to pack up early, after all. The least I should do is help them out."

Jimaine shook her head. "When Mother and the doctor examined you earlier, they agreed that you were fine, but it's not like Margali to take chances, especially not with us. She says you should rest, so that means you should rest. You've got a good excuse, and besides, do you really want to risk angering Mother?"

"No," Kurt admitted, "but honestly, I feel fine. It just seems wrong that I'm not helping, that's all."

"Because you're the only one who can reach certain high places?" Jimaine laughed. "This is a circus, Kurt. You're not the only acrobat here. There are plenty of others who can perform your tasks when necessary. Admittedly, not nearly as quickly as you can do them, but as far as dismantling the circus is concerned, you are not completely irreplaceable."

Kurt smiled at her, and then turned his attention back to the window. "How's it going, anyway?" he asked.

Jimaine merely shrugged. "As well as can be expected, I suppose," she said, "everyone is doing what needs to be done, but it's not much fun," she sighed, "usually when we have to pack up and leave somewhere it's an occasion for celebration, with everyone discussing how things went in the town, lots of laughter, and one too many drunken songs for Margali's liking." She grinned, but it soon faded. "Not this time, though. It's quiet, concentrated, and sombre. Everyone's determined to get everything packed up and moved as soon as possible, leaving no evidence that we were ever here."

"Because of me," Kurt said sadly.

Jimaine sighed. "Something like this was going to happen sooner or later, Stefan, Mother and I have always said that it was just a matter of time until something like this happened. It's a shame that it had to happen the night before our final show here, but that's how it is. We're all alive, we're together, and things could be a lot worse."

"And I'm cooped up here while the rest of you are doing all of the work," Kurt added.

Jimaine shrugged again. "There's not much more to do now, anyway. Mother insisted that I come and see how you're doing, and to be perfectly honest, I was glad for the excuse to get away from everyone. It's so quiet out there, so unlike what I'm used to. It seemed weird, almost unnatural. Still, things should be better when we leave this place."

"When will that be?" Kurt asked, watching as two acrobats carried a large pole towards a bright yellow caravan.

"As soon as we can," Jimaine replied, "once everything's all put away and organised, we'll be on the move. Mother wants to do the spell as soon as possible after everything's packed away, and that means she's not going to let anyone slack off at all. The spell will prevent the town's people from knowing that we were ever here, and it will also remove any trace of our presence. Caravan tracks, that sort of thing. Still, Margali has insisted that just because she intends to perform a spell to remove the memories of our ever being here, that's no excuse for us leaving tracks or any trace of our existence behind. Everything has to be cleared away effectively, the same as always."

"I still don't like the idea of changing people's minds about us being here," said Kurt, "altering people's minds, it seems kind of invasive somehow."

"I said something similar," Jimaine agreed, "but that man, Mortotten, he's got it into his head that you're some sort of evil demon that needs to be hunted and killed. Mother got inside his head, and nothing is going to convince him otherwise, not even her magic. So why try if it's doomed to fail anyway? If we can't convince him, we just convince everyone else that we were never here at all. There's a certain elegance to it, you have to admit."

Kurt nodded thoughtfully. "I forget how powerful Margali is sometimes," he admitted, "I mean, she's just Mum, she keeps the circus going and most of the time, keeps her children from getting into too much trouble. Yet she's also this really powerful sorceress who can do wonderful spells, and has all of these strange abilities."

Jimaine smiled, and hugged Kurt. "She's still Mum," she said, "just because she's also a sorceress doesn't change that, just like me being an acrobat and witch doesn't stop me also being your big sister, and you being a mutant and acrobat doesn't stop you from being my little brother. Kurt, we all have layers, Margali just happens to have really powerful sorceress as one of her layers, that's all."

Kurt turned his attention back to the window, and stared at where the last few poles of the circus were being dismantled and placed into the caravans. "I guess so," he admitted.

"You seem worried," Jimaine observed, watching him intently.

Kurt shook his head. "It's just this spell Mother is going to perform, I mean, is it even possible to alter that many minds all at once?" he asked. "I've never heard of her doing anything like that before."

"I've spoken to her about that," Jimaine replied, "she's done it before, long before we were born, it's not something she likes doing. She says that some people will remember bits, those with strong minds and very powerful memories, but even in those instances, it will just be fragments, as though memories from nearly forgotten dreams. They will simply think that they dreamed those fragments, or that they are half-remembered experiences from other times when they visited circuses long ago." Jimaine smiled. "You don't have to worry about that."

Kurt nodded thoughtfully. "Will we ever come back here?" he asked, a little wistfully.

Jimaine merely shrugged. "Maybe," she said, "but not for a few years at least. Mother wants to make sure that the wizard Morttoten has left here before we return here again. That means that we should not be returning here for a good long while."

Kurt sighed quietly to himself. "It's a shame, I rather like this town," he said.

"You'll like the town were going to just as much as this one," Jimaine assured him, "once Mother has completed the spell, we can start travelling west. Mother wants us to cross the border by midnight, as there will be fewer people around asking awkward questions if we travel in the middle of the night. Then we can set up the circus again in the new country, and start again in a brand new town without having to worry about annoying wizards trying to kill you, won't that be nice?"

Kurt looked like he was about to reply, when Stefan burst through the door of the caravan, and grinned at Jimaine and Kurt. "Well, that's everything," he said, sitting down next to Kurt, "we can be on the move as soon as Margali finishes the spell. We should be across the border and into the new land before midnight, how does that make you feel, my beautiful siblings?" he gave them one of his most charming smiles.

"I just wish this wasn't necessary," Kurt admitted, "I rather like it here. Or I did, until I was attacked," he amended.

Stefan got up and hugged Kurt, giving him a bright smile. "Never fear, my little brother, I have a surprise for you when we cross the border, which I think will cheer you up," he said, winking at Kurt.

"Why do I feel worried?" Jimaine asked sarcastically. "Don't get him into trouble, Stefan, I know what you're like," she said.

"Me?" Stefan asked in mock hurt, getting to his feet and placing a hand over his heart in a theatrical manner. "You wound me deeply, little sister. Would I lead anyone into trouble?"

"Yes," Jimaine said decisively, turning away from Stefan and looking out of the window, "and talking about trouble, Mother's just about to do her spell, so be quiet, both of you," she said, "I want to watch and learn, in case I ever need to perform a similar spell in the future."

Stefan and Kurt merely shrugged at each other, but clearly had enough sense to remain silent, as they watched Margali change into a powerful green being with long green hair. There was a flash of lightning in the air, and the sky became purple, and then blue, and then black, as Margali chanted an incantation in a strange language that Kitty did not understand. Then there was a moment of silence, as Jimaine, Kurt and Stefan looked at each other, uncertainty written all over their faces. Finally, Stefan broke the silence. "Did it work?" he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course it worked," Margali replied, entering the caravan. She was no longer in her powerful green form, and she looked older somehow, more haggard, and her hair was untidy and limp. It was clear that the spell had worn her out, as she slumped on a chair opposite Stefan and Kurt. "I'm getting too old for this," she muttered, smiling up at Jimaine as she gave her a glass of water, "thank you, child," she said. She sipped the water for a moment, before turning her attention back to her worried children. "The spell worked, just as I said it would," she said, "we will be out of this town within an hour, and across the border by midnight. Right now, I suggest that you all get some sleep, we will have a busy day setting up tomorrow, and I for one feel completely tired and drained." With that, she left towards the bedroom section of the caravan, and the magic mirror darkened once more.


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Note – Thanks for all the lovely reviews, it's great to know that you're enjoying this. ****XxPiotr's GirlxX – it makes sense that Kitty would not trust Kurt straight away, she's heard some pretty horrible stories about him, so he needs some way to convince her that he's innocent, which means showing her events from his past. Glad you find the idea interesting. **

**Now on with the story;**

_Stefan's Surprise_

The first lights of dawn were filtering through the window of the caravan as Stefan shook Kurt into wakefulness. Kurt rubbed his eyes sleepily. "What?" he asked groggily.

Stefan put a finger to his lips, indicating for Kurt to be quiet. "I wanted to show you something. We passed the border some hours ago, now we're in the new land, there's something I want to show you before Mother wakes up."

"It's the middle of the night, Stefan," Jimaine moaned from the other side of the caravan, "couldn't this wait until morning?"

"It is dawn, therefore it is morning," Stefan reasoned, folding his arms over his chest, "and no, it couldn't wait until later. Look out of the window, both of you."

Jimaine gave him a wary glance as she strode over to the window. She gasped at what she saw. There were mountains and hills, and a forest of pine trees that stretched as far as the eye could see. Songbirds flew overhead, and the cool, crisp light of dawn gave the whole land an almost magical glow, as though they were entering some sort of enchanted kingdom. A waterfall, not that different from the one that had so fascinated Kurt across the border, gushed into a lake of clear water. The lake itself was so calm that it reflected the scenic view almost perfectly, as the sunlight gleamed on the water. Above the waterfall, at the very summit of a hill, there was a tall, black castle, complete with spires and turrets reaching towards the sky. It looked almost like a toy in the morning sunlight, but Kitty suspected that that it would appear to be quite eerie during the night-time.

"It's beautiful," Jimaine said, "an unspoilt paradise. Are we going to set up near here?"

Stefan nodded. "Half a mile or so to the west, there's a clearing there just outside the town. A perfect place for a circus."

"So is this your surprise?" asked Kurt.

Stefan shook his head. "No, little brother, that comes later. I just wanted to tell you about that castle up there," he made a scary face, grinning menacingly, and pretended that his hands were claws, "it's chateau de la mort," he said dramatically, "the castle of death."

Jimaine rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed. "It is?" she asked. "We're a bit too old to believe in horror stories any more, Stefan."

"No, I want to hear this," said Kurt, turning away from the window to where Stefan was being as dramatic as possible, which only caused Jimaine to shake her head in exasperation.

"It doesn't matter what you believe, Jimaine," Stefan said, pointing at the castle meaningfully, "that is the castle of death. Legend says that it is haunted by evil spirits, by creatures that committed murder in life, and are now trapped within its walls, unable to leave. On dark, cold nights, you can hear their moaning screams, and when there are storms, you can see witches riding their broomsticks above the castle, and cackling as they soar around the castle turrets."

"I don't ride a broomstick," Jimaine said pointedly, "I swing from a trapeze, and as far as I'm concerned, the only people who are going to be moaning in that castle are the tourists who have been charged too much and have failed to witness a single ghost."

Stefan deflated slightly at Jimaine's comment, and Kurt began to giggle. Sighing quietly, Stefan tried to regain his impressive demeanour, as he pointed to the castle once more. "You don't get tourists in places like that," he said, "or if you do, they don't come out again. That is a castle of complete evil, of death. And the interesting thing about it is that nothing living can enter there by normal means. The walls themselves keep strangers out by their ancient magic. You would need magic, or some other form of special power, to get in there, and to leave that unholy place." He gestured dramatically, and his voice suddenly became low and menacing. "Of course, very few manage to get out of there, and live long enough to tell the tale," he added.

Jimaine shook her head. "Just like every other haunted castle in Europe," she muttered, returning to her bed at the other end of the caravan, "wake me up when you have something important to show me."

Stefan deflated again, but Kurt tugged on his sleeve, and spoke quietly to him. "I liked your story," he said, "I thought it was scary and fun. Kind of frightening though," he added.

Stefan ruffled Kurt's hair playfully. "At least one of my siblings appreciates me," he said, making sure that his voice was loud enough for Jimaine to hear. She poked her tongue out at him in response. Stefan turned his attention back to Kurt. "I've still got to show you that surprise I promised you, haven't I?" he asked.

Kurt nodded, and Stefan walked over to a shelf that was filled with books and various pieces of paper. Moving a couple of books out of the way, he seemed to find what he was searching for, only to hide it behind his back as he turned his attention back to the confused Kurt. Jimaine walked over to Stefan, clearly curious about what Stefan's surprise might be. Stefan gave them both a dazzling smile, before turning his full attention back to Kurt. "Nightcrawler, meet Little Nightcrawler!" he said, pulling out something small and soft from behind his back.

Kurt took it, and grinned. It was a soft toy, between five and six inches high. It looked like a small, cute version of the Incredible Nightcrawler, complete with fuzzy blue fur, sparkling red and black costume, a long blue tail and yellow eyes. It also had Kurt's strange hands and feet, but there was nothing scary about the toy, it was the sort of toy that parents would be happy to give to their toddlers, cute and soft and completely harmless. Kurt bent it back, as though making it do a back flip. "It's pretty bendy, quite flexible," he said, "it's cute, really cute, but couldn't you have made it a bit more, I don't know, scary?" He turned it over in his hands, examining it critically. "It's supposed to be some sort of frightening acrobat, a death-defying performer, couldn't you make it look less like a toy and more like it's a scary creature of the night?"

Stefan shook his head decisively. "Now that's where you're wrong, little brother," he said, taking the doll back, "what I want with Little Nightcrawler here, is universal appeal. The sort of doll that will appeal to everyone, from parents wanting to buy them for their children, to lads buying them for their sweethearts, to those who just want to buy a physical reminder of our show. No reason to make it scary so that the very youngest members of our fans will not want one of their own, that would just be limiting our potential customers, so we make it as harmless looking as possible, while still making it look like the Incredible Nightcrawler. Good idea, don't you agree?" He grinned at Kurt.

Jimaine took the doll from her brother's hands, and examined it critically. "I've got to admit, he is rather cute," she said, turning the doll over and examining the stitching around the tail, "this might actually be a good idea," she sounded almost shocked, as though it was the first good idea that her brother had ever had. Stefan pointedly ignored this as Jimaine handed the doll back to him. "What does Mother think about this?" she asked.

"Margali's all for it," Stefan replied, "she wonders why it didn't occur to her earlier to sell toys from our shows, there's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't sell, at least, she couldn't think of a single reason. Besides, we need to make up the money we lost by not being able to perform our final show back across the border," he added.

Kurt looked down guiltily. "Because of me," he said quietly, "the final night is when we usually make the most money, when those who have not attended the show already realise that it's their last chance to see it. It's a shame we had to leave before the final show."

Stefan put his hand on Kurt's shoulder, and gave him a dazzling grin. "Why so glum, little brother?" he asked. "The circus is managing fine, even without the final night's takings, due to you. It's a new dawn, a new country, what better time for a new beginning?" He turned his attention back to the Little Nightcrawler doll, which he held out to Kurt. "And with these going on sale here, there's no reason why we should not be making even more money here than we did before. Of course, this is only a prototype," he added, "Margali said I should talk to you before I went ahead and created dozens of these dolls. So what do you think? Is the Incredible Nightcrawler prepared for me to start producing lots of Little Nightcrawlers?"

Kurt smiled up at Stefan as he took the doll in his hands. "I think it's an excellent idea, yes," he said, "after all, who wouldn't want to be immortalised in felt?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note – Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or added me to their favourites/author alerts. It makes all the time and energy I've spent working on this thing worthwhile to know that there people who are enjoying reading this story. Special thanks particularly to pointyearsrule, who made the very valid comment that I should really focus on Kitty pretty soon. I've re-written this chapter taking that constructive criticism into account. As always, any and all constructive criticism is welcomed. **

**Now on with the story; **

_The New Land_

Kitty put down the mirror as it faded to black once more. She had been so engrossed in finding out more about Kurt's past that she had completely lost track of time. She looked out of the window at where Kurt was busily collecting fruit and vegetables from the garden far below her. She smiled as he scurried up a pear tree, juggling three or four pears before placing them into a large wooden bowl, along with several apples, peaches and plums. After seeing the adorable Little Nightcrawler doll, it was impossible to regard Kurt as a scary demon or murderous monster. It was very hard to be afraid of anyone after seeing such a cute toy version of them. Kitty smiled fondly as Kurt teleported over to a blackberry bush, and began to pick ripe blackberries. He placed them carefully into the bowl, so as to avoid getting them squashed. No, Kurt was no demon; that much was obvious now. He seemed more like some sort of exotic woodland spirit, a playful but benevolent elf, the sort of creature that Kitty had read about in books of folklore and mythology. Kitty watched him thoughtfully, as he began to dig up carrots from his vegetable patch. She had come close to here with the intention of killing him, and he had known, or at least expected, that that was her assigned task. Yet he had saved her when she had lost her fight against the Brotherhood, had taken her back to a place of safety, and had attempted to heal her wound. Even now, he was happily collecting food for her, even after she had mistrusted him and accused him of trying to poison her. Yet he did not seem to be particularly angry with her, or resentful towards her. It was almost as if he was simply desperate for human company and companionship.

Kitty continued to watch him in silence as he continued with his task. He was not ugly, not at all, how could she have ever thought that he looked horrible? His features might be as exotic as those of a tiger, but they were just as beautiful. Now that she had the opportunity to look at him closely, she realised that he was actually really handsome, with high cheek bones, and the athletic physique of a trained acrobat. His yellow eyes were actually rather pretty once you got used to the way they glowed, but there was a deep sadness behind those eyes, as though he had experienced some great tragedy in his life. Kitty suddenly felt a strange desire to get rid of the sadness within those eyes; she wanted those exotic, beautiful eyes to shine with nothing but playfulness and happiness.

She picked up the mirror once more, and looked at it critically. Why did Kurt have such sadness behind his eyes? Kurt had grown up with an imperfect but generally loving family, who had given him affection and attention, as well as the opportunity to use his mutant abilities and receive recognition for his talents. What could have happened to transform the generally happy acrobat and star of the Szardos circus into the feared and hated Demon of Bayville? The answers could easily be found by using the magic mirror, but Kitty had to admit that part of her did not want to see what had transformed Kurt's life so much. There had to be some sort of disaster in Kurt's past for his life to have altered so dramatically. She could not imagine Kurt walking out on his circus unless there was a really good reason for him to do so, and equally, she could not imagine his family forcing him to leave them. Yet here he was, alone and persecuted, with no sign of a circus in sight.

Kitty looked out of the window once more. She could see a waterfall, and pine trees as far as the eye could see. She had seen the view before, from a completely different angle, within the magic mirror. She was clearly in chateau de la mort, the castle of death. But how and why had Kurt ended up staying there, of all places? There were just too many questions, and although she feared that she would not like what she was about to see, her curiosity got the better of her. She asked the magic mirror to continue to show her the important moments from Kurt's life. With a flash of light, the mirror once more showed her a scene from Kurt's past.

Kurt leapt down from the high wire, did a triple summersault in midair, and landed neatly on his feet in the centre of the spotlight in the middle of the huge tent. He bowed to the audience, who clapped and cheered, giving him a standing ovation. Some of the spectators threw flowers towards him, and Kurt picked up a yellow rose, sniffed it, and then bowed towards the young lady who had thrown it at him. He was grinning with pure joy, and it was obvious that he was in his element. It was clear that Kurt loved performing for the crowd as much as they loved watching him. Kurt did a double-back flip, bowed to the audience once more, and then left the tent, still grinning with uncontained happiness.

"It's going well," Jimaine said, running up to him, "the crowd love us here, they love you particularly."

Kurt straightened up in mock pretentiousness, placing a hand over his heart in a dramatic manner. "Of course they love me," he said, obviously trying to keep from laughing out loud, "I'm the star!"

Jimaine laughed, and a moment later, Kurt joined her. Jimaine took the yellow rose from Kurt's hand, and examined it closely. "Flowers too?" she asked. "If we're not careful, your head is going to get so large that it won't fit through the door of the caravan."

Kurt merely laughed. "There's more flowers on the floor, I should probably go back and collect them, so that I can put them in water."

Jimaine shook her head. "I'll go," she said, "remember the trouble you got into the last time someone gave you flowers?"

Kurt became serious all of a sudden. "It won't be the same here," he said quietly, "everyone thinks that this is a costume. That means I'm safe."

Jimaine also became suddenly serious. "No one's ever completely safe," she said quietly, "but we're here, we're family, and so long as you do nothing foolish, everything should be fine."

"Talking about family and foolish, I'm going to see how Stefan's getting on," said Kurt.

Jimaine giggled at the comment. "I'm sure he's fine. I'll go and pick up all of those flowers your adoring fans seem determined to throw at you," she grinned, waved and left.

Kurt grinned back, and then made his way towards where Stefan was waving good-bye to a small family. The younger child was currently chewing the head of a Little Nightcrawler doll, while the older child and parents were discussing the circus. Kurt approached the stall, where Little Nightcrawler dolls stared up at him with sightless yellow eyes. "How's business?" he asked.

Stefan grinned at him. "You're popular, Kurt, I should have thought of this sooner. Who wouldn't want a five inch version of you that they can keep in their pockets?"

Kurt watched as the toddler continued to chew the toy, as his parents examined a stall that was selling sweets. "He's biting off my head!" Kurt muttered. "It feels kind of strange watching a small child chewing my head off!"

Stefan laughed, and ruffled his hair playfully. "Universal appeal, little brother, just like I was telling you before. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest spectator wants a piece of the show, and these," he held up a couple of Little Nightcrawler dolls, "are the pieces they want most of all. We're managing to make up for our lost earnings across the border, everything is going well," he grabbed Kurt playfully around the shoulders, and ruffled his hair once more, "and again, the Incredible Nightcrawler turns the circus around," he said dramatically, "this time via a small, soft toy. Life is good."

"I'm glad things are going well," Kurt smiled.

Stefan returned the smile. "Better than well, little brother, we're able to diversify," at Kurt's confused look, he returned to the stall, and pulled out a box of dolls that were around the same size as the Little Nightcrawlers. These, however, were toy witches. They had black cloaks and hats, long blonde hair and bright, blue eyes. They were riding wooden broomsticks. They looked just as soft and adorable as the Little Nightcrawler dolls, however, and Kurt grinned happily as he examined one of witch dolls. "Jimaine," he said, it did indeed look rather like Jimaine, with the long blonde hair, bright eyes and pretty face. Kurt handed the doll back to Stefan, who placed it back in the box.

"We've started to sell these too," he said. "Lots of people want to see you both immortalised in felt, and want to keep toys of you both as a reminder of your performances here. The Little Nightcrawler dolls sell much better than the Little Witch dolls, though. I guess it's because they're cuter."

Kurt giggled. "Don't let Jimaine hear you say that," he said.

Stefan gave a little laugh, but then suddenly became unusually serious. "We owe you a lot, Kurt," he said, "don't ever forget that."

Kurt looked awkward, clearly not sure how he should respond to that comment. "I won't," he said after a long, awkward pause, "Margali said something similar to that before we came here."

Stefan seemed to stiffen slightly at the mention of his mother, and Kurt gave him a questioning look. "Stefan?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Stefan looked down, focusing on the Little Nightcrawler dolls rather than on Kurt. "Perhaps nothing," he said, "but I saw Margali walking off to the river earlier. She seemed close to tears. I've never seen her like that before; she's always been so strong and in control of every situation. I wanted to follow her, but there were lots of people trying to buy Little Nightcrawler dolls from me, so I could not just get up and leave the stall."

"Mother, close to tears?" Kurt asked, looking down in shocked surprise. "That's not like her at all. I should probably go and see what's wrong."

"You have a show to put on," Stefan reminded him, "or did you forget that you're our star performer?" There was some of his usual playfulness in his voice, but it was also clear that he was more worried than he cared to admit.

"I've got a little while until my next act, I've not forgotten my responsibilities," Kurt replied, "how could I? But if Mother's sad, then that's something which should take priority over my other duties," he said. He smiled at Stefan. "Don't worry; I know that the show must go on, no matter what."

"Good," Stefan replied, visibly relaxing, "oh, and Kurt, do you still have the Little Nightcrawler prototype I gave you?"

Kurt reached inside his costume, and pulled out his own Little Nightcrawler doll, which he examined fondly. "I keep him with me whenever I perform," he said, "always. I think he brings me luck. Maybe Margali would like to borrow him for a while," he added thoughtfully.

Stefan shook his head. "No, you make your own luck, I've always believed that. Still, keep it with you if you think it helps, it can't do any harm."

A couple approached Stefan's stall, and asked Kurt for an autograph. Smiling, Kurt signed their books, and then watched as they bought a Little Nightcrawler doll. "I'm going to find Margali now," he whispered to Stefan, who merely nodded as he continued to serve his customers. Kurt made his way towards the river, occasionally signing autographs as he went. He made his way towards where Margali was leaning against an oak tree, reading a piece of paper, and occasionally staring out across the river.

When she saw Kurt approach, she wiped her eyes hurriedly, and attempted to place the piece of paper back in the pockets of her long skirts. Kurt gently took her hand, stopping her from hiding it. "Mother," his voice quiet and concerned, "what's wrong?"

Margali sighed, and attempted to smile. "You should be preparing for your next show," she said, and her voice was thick, as though she had been crying, "Jimaine will be wondering where you are."

Kurt reached out and gently took the piece of paper, but then frowned. "I can't read it," he admitted.

Margali took it back. "That's because it's in Italian," she explained, "and I never did teach you Italian now, did I?" She stared out across the river, silent and sad.

Kurt bit his lip in uncertainty. "Mother," he said again, "please tell me what's wrong," his voice was quiet and sincere.

Margali gave him a small, sad smile. "There's no keeping anything from you, now, is there Kurt?" she asked. "It's a letter. One of the boys from the town was told to give it to me. Cheeky lad insisted that I give him a couple of coins for the favour." She tried to smile, but it was not a convincing attempt.

"What does the letter say?" asked Kurt.

Margali sighed, and motioned for Kurt to sit down beside her. "It's about Tonino," she said. "He was my husband a long time ago, and the father of Jimaine and Stefan. They both inherited his good looks and charm, I am pleased to say."

"Jimaine and Stefan's father," Kurt repeated, as though it had never occurred to him that they had a father.

Margali seemed to notice this, and treated him to a small smile. "What? You thought I just grew them like mushrooms?" she asked playfully. "No, I was married once. I know it seems hard to believe, but I was actually quite attractive in my youth."

"You're still very beautiful, Mother," Kurt said.

Margali smiled, but her eyes remained sad and distant. "And you're a charmer to match your brother," she said, pulling him into a gentle embrace, "give it a couple more years, and you'll be fighting the girls off with a stick if you keep that up."

Kurt giggled at the comment. "Mother," he said, embarrassed, "you know that I can't get close to anyone outside of the circus."

Margali let go of him, and then looked at him thoughtfully. "When did you get so tall?" she asked him. "Or so sensible and wise? When did you grow up from the little Kurti I found in the river?"

Kurt shrugged, looking rather embarrassed and uncertain. "Always, I guess," he said, "but that doesn't matter now. What happened with Jimaine and Stefan's father?"

Margali looked out across the river, her eyes sad. "Jimaine is too young to remember, but Stefan remembers. At some level, he's always wanted us to get back together, although he won't admit it, even to himself. But I know; a mother always knows these things."

"And won't you?" Kurt asked. "Get back together, I mean," he clarified.

Margali shook her head. "No Kurt, no," she said, and then sighed, "truth to tell, we should never have married in the first place, but don't tell your brother and sister that. At the time, he was young and charming, and incredibly handsome. I was much less experienced in those days, and flattered that he noticed me and lavished affection and attention on me. I guess I just wanted the fairy tale romance, and I had it too, for a few years. We married and had our little family, but then we developed a difference of opinion regarding certain matters."

"What matters?" asked Kurt.

Margali grinned at him. "He wanted to sleep with other women, and I did not," seeing Kurt's sympathetic look, she gave him a sad smile, "oh, I can't make him out to be the villain of this story, life is usually far more complicated than that. The truth was that he wanted a wife who would be devoted to him, who would put him first, before everything else. Yet my first love, my first responsibility, was always the Szardos circus, and I did tell him that before we were married. It was not too bad until our children came along, then I made it clear that my children came first, before the circus, and my circus came before my husband." Margali looked at Kurt intently, and then gave a huge sigh. "It could not have been easy, being my third priority, when he wanted so much to be my first. It is perhaps not surprising that he looked elsewhere for love and comfort. I knew about his affairs, and confronted him about his wandering ways. After a rather heated argument, we agreed that it would be better for everyone that we should separate, that I should keep my children and my circus, my only true loves, and he should return to his native Italy. But all that was a long time ago," she added, looking at Kurt intently, "when my children were very small."

"And the letter?" Kurt asked quietly.

Margali handed him the letter, and sighed once more. "Seems he's managed to get himself an incurable disease," she said, obviously trying to keep her tone light and playful, although there was a great deal of sorrow in her tone of voice, "so now he wants to see me one last time. You know, to prove to him that he's important to me after all. Of course I cannot," she said, "the circus needs me; I can't just pack up and leave, travel to Italy on a whim. Still," she gave a small smile, "it would be nice to see him, one last time."

Kurt handed the letter back to her. "Go," he said.

Margali shook her head. "I cannot. I have responsibilities here," she said.

"How long has he got?" Kurt asked quietly.

Margali gave another huge sigh. "If he's lucky? Six months. Maybe a year. If not, well, maybe a month or two," she shrugged, "hard to tell, at least from the letter."

Kurt hugged Margali again. "You must go to him," he said, "he might die soon, and then you'll never get the chance to tell him that you still love him."

She pulled away from Kurt, who smiled up at her. "Don't deny it, Mother," he said with a wry smile, "why else would you attempt to defend him when he broke his marriage vow?" You loved him once, enough to make two fine children together. You still love him, if only because of Stefan and Jimaine."

She looked at him intently for a long moment, and then smiled at him. "You see too deeply, Kurt," she said, "thank goodness you only see with love."

Kurt smiled at her as Margali placed the letter back inside her pocket. "But I cannot just leave the circus. It needs me. My children need me, I cannot just abandon my responsibilities," she said.

"We will always need you, Stefan, Jimaine, the circus and me," Kurt said, "but that does not mean that we need you to be physically close to us. The Szardos circus is doing very well, we're really popular here. The Little Nightcrawlers are selling well, people from all over the country are coming to see me perform, and Stefan can handle the running of the circus until you return."

Margali looked down, and pulled Kurt into an embrace once more. Kurt smiled up at her. "We are old enough now, Mother, that we don't need you to be physically close to us anymore. All we need is your love. But your ex-husband, he needs you close; he needs you now, because for him, it might be the last time.

Margali looked at Kurt for a long moment, and then smiled at him. "You are right, my little one," she said quietly, "I have been making excuses, when in fact the main reason is that I am afraid. But you would not let me lie to myself now, would you?"

Kurt merely shook his head. Margali stared at him intently for a long moment. "Did you know that you always had a special place in my heart?" she asked him quietly, seriously.

Kurt simply shrugged, and blushed ever so slightly at the comment. "Along with Stefan and Jimaine?" he said quietly.

Margali nodded. "Along with Stefan and Jimaine," she agreed. She stretched, and looked at Kurt intently once more. "I am not a young woman any more, Kurt," she said seriously, "but I still retain some of the old romantic hopes and dreams I once had."

Kurt merely stared up at her in confusion at the comment. Margali laughed playfully when she saw his expression. "You and Jimaine," she clarified, "the optimist, the romantic within me has always hoped that one day you two would be more than brother and sister, that the love between you would blossom into romance." She laughed lightly when she saw Kurt's shocked expression. "What? You think you are too good for my daughter, do you?" she teased.

Kurt blushed again. "No, of course not," he said, putting his hands up defensively, "but she's my sister. We grew up together. We used to bathe together. It would just be wrong somehow," he said, fidgeting slightly.

Margali laughed and winked at Kurt playfully. "Well, then you've already seen her naked," she said. "Although I can assure you that her body has developed very nicely since the days when you used to bathe together."

"Mother," said Kurt embarrassed, "stop teasing me."

Margali gave a little laugh, and then stared intently at Kurt once more. "No," she said after a brief pause, "it's just the romantic fantasy of an old woman, aging past her prime. Still, it was fun to see your expression just then."

Kurt looked down, smiling slightly, despite his embarrassment. "I have to get back and prepare for my next show," he said awkwardly, "and you have to tell everyone that you will be leaving the Szardos circus and going to Italy for some time."

Margali nodded. "You're right, Kurt," she said with a small sigh. As Margali and Kurt made their way back to the circus, the magic mirror went dark once more.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note – Thanks for the reviews. Special thanks to Dragoncat and ****XxPiotr's GirlxX who have managed to keep with this story from beginning to end, you inspire me to do the same. Hopefully the next few chapters will help to explain a few things, and draw some of the plot threads together. **

**Warning – character death in this and the next chapter; it's advisable not to read these chapters if you are feeling depressed.**

**Warning 2 – The following chapters (well, the whole story really) can have the following side-effects; a desire to cuddle, hug, and otherwise comfort anything that is blue, soft, and/or furry.**

**You have been warned.**

"_**The really dangerous people believe they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous." (Neil Gaiman)**_

_New Country, Old Enemy_

Kurt was signing autographs and chatting happily with a small crowd of adoring fans, while Stefan continued to sell the Little Nightcrawler dolls andLittle Witch dolls. Everything seemed to be going well with the Szardos circus. Jimaine walked over to Kurt and Stefan as the small crowd gradually dispersed.

"What's wrong?" asked Stefan.

Jimaine grinned at him. "Absolutely nothing!" she said. "Profits are up, the circus is doing fine, and those dolls of yours are selling like boiled sweets to hungry children."

"Then why do you need to see us?" asked Stefan, clearly confused.

Jimaine sighed, and gave him a knowing look. "Because when things are going too well, something bad always happens," she said, "it's as if there's some external power that just doesn't want us to be happy, at least, not for long."

Kurt and Stefan merely shrugged at each other uncertainly. There was a long, awkward pause.

"I miss Mother," said Kurt after a while.

Jimaine nodded in agreement. "We all do. But it was you who suggested that she should leave us."

"I still think it was the right thing to do," Kurt said.

"I always hoped that Mum and Dad would get back together some day," said Stefan, looking down at the Little Nightcrawler dolls, "do you think they will, Kurt, did she say they'd get back together before the end?"

Kurt shook his head, and looked rather uncomfortable. "Margali didn't say so," he said awkwardly, "but I guess anything's possible."

"And now you're both gloomy again," said Jimane, a knowing, wry smile on her face, "come on, Kurt, let's get back to the caravan and get ready before the last show begins." She waved farewell to Stefan, who waved back. Kurt and Jimaine made their way back to the caravan. Once she was inside, Jimaine stared at a small mirror, and began to touch up her make-up. Kurt watched her patiently for a few minutes, and then began to stare longingly at a small bookshelf, filled with very old books. Jimaine grinned at Kurt in the mirror. "I know what you're looking at," she said.

Kurt jumped slightly, and grinned apologetically. "What?" he asked.

Jimaine turned around to look at him. "That pirate book of mine up there on the shelf. The third in the trilogy. I told you I'd let you borrow it as soon as I finished it, and I will. Just be patient."

Kurt shrugged. "Well, I've finished the other two books in the trilogy, and I just want to find out how it ends."

"You'll find out soon enough," Jimaine replied, turning back to the mirror, "I've got to admit, it's a good series, lots of action and adventure. But I just hate that princess in there, that stupid damsel in distress. I was really disappointed that the skeleton pirates never got around to killing her."

Kurt giggled. "Yes, she is really annoying. Not like the women I know here in the circus."

"And don't you forget that, either," said Jimaine with a smile.

"I can't imagine you ever being a damsel in distress, although any damsel who tried to fight with you would probably wind up being pretty distressed," Kurt giggled again.

"I was raised by Margali," Jimaine replied simply, getting up and allowing Kurt to take her place in front of the mirror. Kurt began to touch up his own make-up.

"Margali, a damsel in distress," Kurt could not stop himself from laughing at the very idea, "now that's something that my mind can't even grasp."

The door to the caravan burst open, and Stefan walked inside. "And what is it that my little brother can't grasp?" he asked.

"Margali," Kurt replied, "a damsel in distress."

"I think she will be in quite a lot of distress when our Dad finally dies," he said. The caravan went very quiet all of a sudden. After a long, awkward pause, Stefan finally broke the silence. "What? It's true," he said defensively.

"I guess we all have our weaknesses," said Jimaine quietly, "even Margali." The awkward silence continued for another long moment. It was finally broken when there was a knock on the caravan door.

"I'll go and see who it is," said Stefan, opening the caravan door and going outside.

Kurt turned back to the mirror and continued touching up his make-up. Jimaine went to the window of the caravan to see what was going on. She frowned and indicted for Kurt to come over to join her. Putting down his make-up, Kurt walked towards the window, and also frowned at what he saw. There were around two dozen men, all dressed in flowing black cloaks and robes. Stefan was clearly trying to get rid of them, using his most charming smile and most theatrical gestures, but it was not working. The men were stubbornly refusing to leave, despite Stefan's best efforts. Jimaine turned to Kurt, her expression concerned. "I don't like the look of this," she said grimly, grabbing a key from the windowsill. "Sorry, Kurt, this is for your own good. Stay here; I'll see what I can do to get rid of them." With that, she left the caravan, locking the door with an audible click. Kurt turned his attention back to the window, and bit his lip in concern.

"I am sorry, but I am afraid you can't meet our star performer right now," Stefan was flashing the men his most dazzling smile, but there was clearly fear and uncertainty in his eyes, "he is currently preparing for our final show of the evening, and cannot be disturbed."

Jimaine gasped when she saw the leader of the black robed men. He was none other than the wizard Morttoten, looking just as handsome and just as arrogant and determined as the last time she had met him. She balled her hands into tight fists.

"Oh yes, you led me a merry dance these last few months, witch," Morttoten said, glaring at Jimaine, "making me doubt my own memories, my own mind. But tenacity is one of my strong points, one of many. Once evil is located, I do not give up my quest to destroy it, no matter the adversity that I must face in order to eradicate this evil. And now that your vile sorceress mother is not around to protect the demon, my noble mission will not be thwarted again."

Jimaine's face was rapidly becoming the colour of beetroot, and it was obvious that she was barely containing her temper. Stefan put a restraining hand on her shoulder, and took a step towards Morttoten. "Don't call our mother vile," he said, and his voice was dangerously quiet, "she is the strongest, bravest, kindest and most determined woman I have ever met."

"How do you know that Margali isn't here?" Jimaine asked, in a voice that was, for her, unusually quiet and fearful, "and how did you manage to find us?"

"I have my ways," Morttoten replied arrogantly, "now, you know what I want."

"Yes," muttered Jimaine sarcastically, "my fist in your face," she glared at him, "again."

"Hand over the demon, and we will leave you alone," replied Morttoten, "despite the fact that we should not really allow a witch to live, we will show infinite mercy in this instance. Just do as we say, and we will never have anything to do with you, ever again."

Jimaine and Stefan looked at each other. Stefan shook his head and gave a theatrical sigh. "You know, I think he really believes that we're going to take notice of his threats," he said, his tone incredulous, "idiot."

"There is a darkness in this one," said an elderly cloaked man beside Morttoten. He pointed a gnarled finger directly at Stefan's face. "In another place and time, he was responsible for murder, for the death of infants."

"Look, we're not recruiting any clowns right now," said Jimaine sarcastically, as she turned her attention to the elderly man, "I'll give you an ultimatum, shall I? Leave right now, and never return, and we'll have nothing more to do with you. Or stay, and see just how powerful an angry witch, only daughter of the sorceress Margali, can be when annoyed. It's your choice."

"And this one, the young witch," the elderly man gave his full attention to Jimaine, examining her up and down, "in another place and time, she was the lover of the one you seek. Both of these children are tainted," he said.

"You are not the only one who is able to utilise supernatural powers in order to achieve your ends," Morttoten said, an arrogant smirk on his face, "my colleague here can see possibilities, alternative worlds, possible futures and pasts."

"That's nice," said Jimaine, clearly unimpressed. She folded her arms and glared at Morttoten. "Does he see a future in which my fist connects with your face, knocking you unconscious?" she asked, giving him a sarcastic smile.

"Make threats if you must," Morttoten replied, "but my patience grows thin. Will you surrender the demon to me or not?"

"Well now, let me think about that," said Jimaine sarcastically. "I've thought about it. Not. Now go away."

"These children will not change their minds, neither will they send you the one you seek," the elderly man told Morttoten.

"Yes, he's good at seeing future possibilities, that one," muttered Jimaine.

Morttoten ignored the comment, and shook his head sadly, as he turned to his elderly colleague. "Then these children leave me no choice. We must destroy them both."

A moment later, dozens of spells flew towards Jimaine. Although she was able to counteract most of the spells with her own magic, she was not able to deal with all of them. A spell hit her directly on the chest, just as she was counteracting two other spells. Jimaine found herself being slowly engulfed in something which looked rather like a caterpillar's cocoon, which slowly covered her from head to foot, preventing her from counteracting any more spells. Stefan had simply attacked any of the robed men that he could reach, punching and kicking them with no small amount of determination and anger. He was clearly trying to prevent them from casting more spells, and was having some success, as he had managed to knock two of the men unconscious. It was clear, however, that he was fighting a losing battle, as he was outnumbered, and did not stand a chance of winning against so many powerful wizards. It was only a matter of time before the wizards had managed to stop him from attacking them. With some difficulty, seven of the black robed men held Stefan. Many of them had received bruises from fighting him, but it was clear that Stefan was defeated, as the wizards held his arms behind his back. Stefan glared at Mortotten, who stared back at him with something akin to pity.

"You are defeated, boy," he told him, "the witch has been subdued, and it is clear that you cannot fight us all. You know what we want. We will succeed in ridding the world of the evil demon, no matter what you do, you should realise that by now. You are defeated. Go and bring the demon towards us, and we will yet show mercy to your vile little gypsy group."

Stefan glared at him with pure hatred as he continued talking to him. "If you do not comply, we will burn the whole circus to the ground. One way or another, we will rid the world of the demon's evil. Go and get the demon. Eventually we will destroy it anyway, of that you can be sure. This way, many deaths can be prevented. Go and get the demon," he said again, "you'll be a hero. You will be able to save many lives, you know that you are defeated, and this is the only sensible thing to do," his eyes shone with triumph.

From the caravan window, Kurt stared at the scene in horror. He looked down at his Little Nightcrawler doll, and hugged it tightly. He closed his eyes. "He's right," he said sadly, walking over to the caravan door, only to find that it was locked. He returned to the window, where Morttoten continued to taunt Stefan.

Stefan glared at him, growling in a rather feral manner. "You have no idea how much I hate you," he said, his voice low and furious.

Morttoten merely looked at him calmly, as he folded his arms over his chest. "But you do know I am right," he smirked at Stefan.

Stefan glared at him a moment longer, then he looked down, his shoulders slumping, looking utterly defeated. "Well, I can't get anyone while your followers have hold of me now, can I?" he said between gritted teeth.

Morttoten nodded, and indicated for his followers to release their hold on Stefan. The instant they let go of him, Stefan punched Morttoten, hard, in the face. A moment later, Morttoten's followers had once more grabbed his arms and were holding him back. Stefan glared at Morttoten, a satisfied smile on his lips. "You know, Jimaine was right," he said, in a surprisingly conversational manner, "hitting you does indeed feel really, really satisfying."

Morttoten shook his head sadly. "I had hoped to avoid this," he said, regret in his tone, "but you leave me no choice with your constant refusal to co-operate." He turned to the men who were holding Stefan still, indicting for them to bring him forward a couple of paces. They did so, and Morttoten looked Stefan directly in the eye as he put his hands around his neck. There was a horrible, sickening sound as Stefan's neck snapped, and he fell limply to the ground. His head hung at an unnatural angle, and he looked almost like a puppet that had had its strings cut. Morttoten stared at him for a moment, shaking his head sadly. "Such a shame, such a waste," he said, "that one had such courage, such determination, if only he had not been loyal to the evil demon, he may have made an excellent ally."

Kurt watched from the window, his eyes wide with horror at what he had just seen. "Stefan?" he said in a whisper. "No, this can't be real," he backed away from the window, holding the Little Nightcrawler doll close to himself, as though it could offer some small degree of comfort. "Stefan!" he yelled, tears falling down his cheek, "Stefan please!" He went to the door once more, and tried to open it again. Of course it was still locked. "Jimaine, let me out of here!" called Kurt.

Morttoten turned to one of his followers, a middle-aged man with red hair and a determined expression. "Burn them all down," Morttoten told him, "we gave them every opportunity to hand over the demon, yet they refused. Don't give the demon a chance to escape our justice."

He grinned almost manically at the instruction, and within a moment, the whole troupe was on fire. Caravans were slowly burning to the ground, as people and animals tried to race away from the flames. Kurt watched, horrified, as the flames leapt around the circus, as far as the eye could see. He tried the door once more, trying to force it open, but it was no use. The flames were slowly eating away at the caravan walls, and Kurt started to choke on the fumes. He threw a chair at the window, which shattered into hundreds of tiny shards of glass, but before he could make his way out of the caravan, a wooden beam fell from the ceiling onto his tail, pinning him to the floor, and preventing him from escaping. The flames were rising all around him, and Kurt was panicking, trying desperately to free his tail and avoid being burned alive. "Let me out!" he called, but his voice sounded choked, and little more than a sob. Staring at his trapped tail in no small amount of hopelessness, Kurt got down on the floor as low as he could, in order to avoid the flames and the fumes. Tears were leaking from his eyes, and he hugged the Little Nightcrawler doll close to himself as he cried. "Let me out," he sobbed, "let me go to him, it's me he wants, no-one else." The flames continued to rise, slowly burning down Kurt's home as he continued to choke and sob. "It's me he wants," he sobbed on the floor. He curled himself into a small, blue furry ball, as though that could somehow protect him from the raging inferno. He tried to call out once more, but no sound came out, so he just continued sobbing quietly, holding the Little Nightcrawler doll tightly to himself as he wept.

Bamf! There was a sound like an implosion of air, and a bright flash of yellow light. A moment later, there was a cloud of purple smoke, and no sign of Kurt. It was as if he had somehow managed to vanish into thin air.

The magic mirror once more went black.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews. ****XxPiotr's GirlxX – all of your questions will be answered in future chapters, and I agree, poor Stefan died a rather ironic death. If you've read the comics, you'll appreciate just how ironic. You don't have to have read the comics to understand this story, but it will help if you are at least familiar with Kurt's back-story. Pointyearsrule – glad you like the AU twists, and I agree, it was sad that they had to make Stefan and Kurt murderers. I've tried to present the Szardos family in a more sympathetic manner, and I hope I have succeeded.**

**Warning – see previous chapter. Character death, and a very depressed Kurt. It was because of this chapter that I changed the rating to T, just to be on the safe side. Despite this, I want to keep this story fairly 'PG-13', so there's nothing too graphic within this story.**

_Darkest Hour_

Kurt lay motionless by the river, groaning quietly to himself. Most of the sequins had been burnt off of his costume, and his tail was burnt and bent. His fur had been singed in various places, and he looked pale and sickly. He raised his head an inch off of the ground, choked, spat, managed to groggily get to his feet, and was promptly sick. He fell down onto the soft grass. He lay there for a long moment, groaning quietly to himself, and holding his stomach. He opened one eye cautiously, stared at his pale reflection in the water, and then closed his eye once more. He sighed, and sobbed, before cautiously opening one eye, and then the other, and then forcing himself to sit up with some difficulty. He looked at his surroundings, confusion written all over his face. He was on the bank of the river, near the waterfall, and he could see the Castle of Death far above him on top of a hill. He scratched his head, frowned, and looked uncertain as he examined himself and his surroundings once more. Cautiously, he got to his feet, only to fall to the ground again. He groaned, and sat down on the river bank, his head in his hands. "I feel awful," he said, staring at his reflection in the river, "and I look it too. How on Earth did I get here?" He glared at his reflection for a long moment, as if it could somehow give him answers. Naturally, it just stared up at him, reflecting his confused face. Kurt managed to force himself to his feet once more. He stared up at where the sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was around midday. Although the sun was shining brightly, there were storm clouds gathering on the horizon, threatening rain later. "How did I get here?" he asked again, "and why?" He waited, but no answer was forthcoming. He sighed and slumped forwards, falling to his knees on the grass by the river. He stared at his reflection in no small amount of agitation and confusion. "This," he muttered, clearly feeling frustrated with himself, "is doing no good whatsoever. Where's the circus?"

He frowned and sighed again. "What happened back there?" he asked quietly. "First there's Morttoten and all his followers wanting to kill me, and then Stefan..." his voice trailed off, tears leaking from his eyes as he stared up at the sky. "Stefan," he repeated quietly, "no, he can't be dead. He's much too stubborn to just die like that, much too tough. This has to be one of his silly games, a trick, I'll get back to the circus, and he will be fine, and start laughing at me for taking his trick seriously." Kurt tried to smile, but it was a forced, sad smile. For a few more moments, he cried quietly to himself. He pulled out his Little Nightcrawler doll, and began to hug it tightly, as he continued to sob. "Then after Stefan..." his voice trailed off again, "there was a fire and then my tail was trapped, and the next thing I know, I'm here and feeling as if my stomach is somewhere else."

Kurt glared at his reflection. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Kurt!" he instructed it angrily. "Stefan's still alive, he has to be! But he might be hurt, and so might Jimaine. That means I have to get back to the circus to try and help them." Kurt groggily got to his feet once more, and with some difficulty, managed to take a few steps forwards, then a few more. He fell to the ground, and growled in frustration. He got to his hands and feet, and moved on all fours, making his way slowly but surely towards the circus. Finally, he managed to reach the place where the Szardos circus had once been set up, and gasped in horror at what he saw. There were bodies lying all over the ground, many burned and bleeding, some no more than charred skeletons. Bodies of men, women, children and animals, as well as the remnants of burnt down caravans, covered the area where a happy and lively circus had once been located. Kurt slumped to his knees beside one of the bodies, and was sick once more. He hugged the Little Nightcrawler doll to himself, and sobbed quietly. "This isn't real, this can't be real," he muttered to himself, "I'm dreaming, yes, that's it. Wake up, Kurt! You're having a nightmare, any moment now you're going to wake up, then Stefan is going to moan at you for disturbing him, then Jimaine will moan at Stefan for moaning at you!" He tried to smile, as he desperately tried to convince himself that nothing he was seeing was real. He pinched his arm and then his tail. He glared at the red marks angrily. "Odd, that nearly always works when I want to wake up. Wake up Kurt!" He growled, and then burst into tears. "This isn't a dream, this isn't a nightmare, it's really real. But it can't be, this sort of thing just doesn't happen in real life, it can't!" After a long moment, Kurt got to his feet groggily, and made his way through the charred and burnt bodies. "Hello?" he called, his voice thick from crying. "Is anyone...alive here?" He looked down, and with some trepidation, began to examine some of the least burnt bodies, clearly trying to see if anyone might have somehow, miraculously, survived the inferno. After a while he gave up his search, and his shoulders slumped in defeat, as he stared at Stefan's body. It was recognisable, despite being burned and charred, Stefan's previously handsome face now a mass of burns. Kurt shook Stefan's body, as though that would somehow do any good. "Wake up!" he yelled at him, tears falling from his eyes. "This isn't funny, Stefan, wake up!"

Kurt hugged Stefan's body to himself, and sobbed quietly. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so, so sorry. If only I'd thought to smash the window a few minutes earlier, you and Jimaine and everyone might still be alive!" Kurt gently dropped Stefan's body, and stared at it sadly. "Wait a minute, Jimaine, she might still be alive!" he said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked around at the bodies and the carnage, and soon found Jimaine, still partially wrapped in the cocoon. Kurt got down on his knees next to her, and tentatively examined her. She was unconscious and badly burnt. There was blood all over her body, but she was still alive. Kurt smiled through his tears, and began to remove what remained of the cocoon. "Jimaine," he said, gently stroking her cheek, "it's me, Kurt. Please wake up."

Jimaine stirred, and opened her eyes. She smiled sadly as she looked at Kurt. "Oh Kurt," she said, hugging him, "I was so afraid for you."

"I'm fine," Kurt's voice was choked as he spoke, but he managed to smile through his tears, "it's you I have to worry about."

Jimaine gave him a knowing smile, and shook her head sadly. "You and I both know that it's too late for me," she said quietly, her voice full of acceptance, "but you're alive. I'm so happy because of that. I was so afraid that you had been burnt to death in the caravan."

Kurt stifled a sob. "I don't understand how," he said quietly, "one minute I was in the caravan, and the flames were all around me. I was terrified, and I just wanted to be somewhere else. I thought of the river, and then, somehow, I was there. I tried to get back here, but kept falling over and being sick. I'm so, so sorry," he said, hugging Jimaine, and weeping uncontrollably, "Stefan's dead, and so is Christian, Sabu, Kurt and probably everyone else. It was just me they wanted. If I'd just given myself up, all of this could have been avoided."

"Don't talk like that," said Jimaine, "don't you dare even think like that. What happened here was not your fault."

Kurt sobbed, and shook his head sadly. "It was," he said, and then looked at Jimaine thoughtfully, "but it can still be prevented, can't it?" he sounded hopeful, and rather desperate. "You're a witch; can't you just undo what happened? Turn back time, let Morttoten and the others take me, and leave the rest of you alone?"

"No," said Jimaine, coughing and choking as she spoke, "there's no way to turn back time, Margali explained that to me a long time ago. So I couldn't let you just hand yourself over, even if I wanted to, which I don't." She coughed and spluttered as Kurt held her gently in his hands. It was clear that she was dying, and that there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Jimaine gave him a small, sad smile. "Poor Kurt," she said, "now you'll never find out what happened to the hero in that pirate book, never find out whether or not he returned to Spain with all of that gold."

Kurt shook his head. "I know what happens," he said sadly, "the heroes win, and get exactly what they deserve. The villains are beaten, and they also get exactly what they deserve." He gave Jimaine a small smile as he held her tightly in his arms. "If only real life could be more like that."

"We both know that that's not how it works in real life," said Jimaine, looking up at the sky. Thunder clouds were starting to gather overhead, and there was a distant sound of thunder. "I think it's going to rain," said Jimaine, her tone surprisingly conversational, given the circumstances, "promise me you'll find a safe place to get warm and dry out of the rain. You don't want to catch a cold."

Kurt choked, but managed a small smile. "I promise," he said. A few drops of rain began to fall from the sky as Kurt hugged Jimaine close to himself. Jimaine coughed and smiled up at him, and then died in his arms. Kurt stared at her body, hugging it closely to himself as he wept into her hair. "If only Margali were here," Kurt whispered, "maybe she could have prevented all of this. But I told her to leave. This is all my fault."

The thunder clouds rolled overhead, and the rain began to fall in heavy droplets upon the ground, as though mirroring Kurt's mood. For a long moment, Kurt merely ignored the rain, as he held Jimaine's body close to his own. The rain mingled with his tears as he sobbed quietly to himself, as lightning flashed in the distance. Kurt looked up as the rain became torrential, soaking his fur and clothes. He picked up Jimaine's body, and placed it gently besides Stefan's, before sadly making his way from the sad remains of his home. There was obviously nothing that he could do to help them, and he had made a promise to Jimaine. He coughed a couple of times, and was sick once more. He made his way towards the river, and then stared up at the Castle of Death, where it towered over the town. He made his way up the hill towards the castle, as the storm raged all around him. He finally reached the Castle of Death. There was a large wooden door at the front of the castle, and Kurt tentatively knocked on this door. He waited, shivering slightly in the rain, for a long moment, before trying to open the door. It was obviously locked, so Kurt made his way towards one of the windows. Wiping away the rainwater from the window, he looked inside. He grimaced with concentration. Bamf! There was a sound of imploding air, and a bright flash of yellow light. Kurt vanished in a cloud of purple smoke, and reappeared within the Castle of Death.

Kurt landed on the floor just beside the window. He got to his feet, and cautiously looked around. He nervously took a few steps forwards into the gloom. "Hello?" he called into the darkness, "is anyone here?" He sighed, and took a few more steps forwards. "I don't want to cause any trouble; I just want to find shelter from the storm outside." There was no answer. Kurt cautiously looked around himself, making his way over to the far corner of the room. "Then I'll leave, and go," he paused, looking down at where he was dripping rainwater over the stone floor, "where? I can't go back to the circus; it's been burnt to the ground." Kurt sat down in the corner of the room, hugging himself tightly as stared at the floor. "I know I look scary," he said, "but I'm just a harmless blue fuzzball, really."[1]. Although his voice echoed through the room, there was no reply. "I don't want to hurt anyone," he said, "and I hope you feel the same way towards me. I just want to stay here until it stops raining." Again, there was no reply. Kurt hugged his Little Nightcrawler doll tightly, and sobbed quietly to himself. "You would not believe the horrible day I have just had," he told the gloom through his tears, "and that's the understatement of the century." He sobbed quietly for a few minutes more. "Or the millennium," he added after a while, trying to smile through his tears with decidedly limited success, "or whatever it is that comes after millennium." Then he curled himself into a tight ball on the hard, stone floor of the castle, and quietly cried himself to sleep.

Direct quote from the X-Men Evolution episode _The Middleverse_. Kurt says this to Forge when they are both trapped in this 'Middleverse'.


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors Notes: As always, thanks for the reviews: ****– Lilac Rose6 - sorry I made you cry, but I'm glad that you like my writing. There will be plenty of Kurtty later in the story, in part 3. Dragoncat - The Brotherhood will have a very big role to play in future chapters, and you will get to see a bit of Kitty's reaction to Kurt's past in this chapter. **

_Shadowed Past[1] _

Kitty put down the mirror once more. She wiped her eyes and stared out of the window at where Kurt was still busily digging up vegetables. He had been through so much, and he did not deserve any of it, he had never hurt anyone. She felt vaguely ashamed of herself. She had been feeling lonely and missing her parents for the last few weeks, but everyone at the Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters had been kind to her, and she knew for a fact that her parents were fine. Compared to what Kurt had been through, her loneliness and homesickness suddenly seemed pathetic and self-indulgent. Also, she remembered how scared she had been when her mutant phasing power had first developed, and she fell through the stairs, terrifying her poor parents nearly out of their minds. Yet her powers had developed in a place where she felt both safe and loved, with parents who might have been confused and unsure about what to do for the best, but who were nevertheless determined that Kitty would receive all the love and support that she would need. Poor Kurt's powers had developed in the most terrifying way that she could imagine, while petrified for both himself and his family. Kitty could hardly blame him for wanting to curl up into a ball and cry.

Kitty picked up the mirror once more, but accidently dropped it. Scared that it would smash, she was relieved when it merely clanked on the stone floor. She shook her head; it seemed that the tragedy of Kurt's past was affecting her more than she cared to admit. She bent down to pick up the mirror, and something yellow under the bed caught her attention. Curious, she walked over to it, and bent down to see what it might be. She smiled to herself when she realised what it was. Under the bed, she found the Little Nightcrawler doll, as its yellow eyes had been quite noticeable against the grey stone floor. It was rather dusty, indicating that it had been under there for quite some time. She picked it up, and brushed off some of the dust. "I guess you're all he's got left to remind him of his family," she said, staring at the doll for a long moment. "No wonder he spent so much time hugging you." It did feel surprisingly comforting to hug the doll. She picked up the mirror, and went over to the window once more. "What happened with Kurt next?" she asked. There was a flash of light, and the mirror showed her Kurt curled up into a ball, crying quietly to himself on the stone floor.

Kurt was finally distracted by a small, metallic sound coming from the window, followed by the caw of a bird. He looked up, and saw a rather large raven perched on the windowsill. It had its head cocked to one side, as though examining Kurt critically. Wiping his eyes, Kurt got to his feet, and walked over to the raven, a puzzled expression on his face. There seemed to be an unnatural intelligence in the raven's eyes, and Kurt noticed that there was a small mirror by its side, the mirror Kitty was currently using.

"Hello?" said Kurt cautiously.

The raven seemed to smile, and then hopped into the room. Before Kurt's eyes, the bird changed into a rather attractive woman, with blue skin, yellow eyes and flaming red hair. She examined Kurt critically, as he blinked in confusion. There was an awkward pause while both examined the other. Finally, the woman broke the silence. "You're pathetic," she said derisively, "what good is it doing, sitting on the floor here crying to yourself? I learnt long ago that self-pity is both ugly and useless."

Kurt shook his head, and looked away from her. "You don't understand," he said quietly, "you don't know what I've been through."

"Yes I do," she replied, holding up the mirror meaningfully, "some people you thought cared about you have died. So you're sad. Well, people die all the time, that's just life. Crying about it and feeling sorry for yourself is not helping anyone."

Kurt looked at the mirror, and narrowed his eyes. "That mirror allows you to spy on me?" he asked.

The woman merely shrugged. "If you want to put it that way," she said.

"Why?" Kurt asked. "Why would you care what happens to me?"

The woman gave him a critical look, and then she gave a small laugh. "No, you're not that stupid," she said. "Look at us, Kurt. Tell me you don't see a family resemblance?"

Kurt's eyes widened suddenly with realisation. "You...!" he began, but was unable to finish the sentence.

"Yes, Kurt, me," the woman replied. "My name is Raven Darkholme, although you might know me better by my mutant name, Mystique."

"The mutant terrorist?" Kurt seemed to be in shock.

"I prefer the term freedom fighter," she replied. She moved a little closer to Kurt, and her yellow eyes softened, just a little. "Although I do not deny that I have made," she paused, as though considering her words carefully, "questionable choices in my life." She gave Kurt a rather sad smile. "Our kind, mutants, or as we like to refer to ourselves, homo superior, have been persecuted by the inferior humans for years. I and my associates decided to fight back to prevent the inferior humans from treating us no better than animals or slaves. In so doing, I confess that I have made choices that you might have found reprehensible."

"You've killed people," Kurt said, suddenly becoming angry, "you've hurt others."

"Freedom always comes at a price, my son," she told him sadly, "and often, that price is very high. I would not have expected you to understand right away," she added, "but our kind must fight for our rights, or they will be denied us."

Kurt shook his head, as though trying to clear it. "Margali said she found me in the river by a waterfall," he said, "I have to know how I got there, the secrets that have plagued me for so long."

Mystique nodded. "You have a right to know how you ended up in the care of those inferior humans." Kurt growled and balled his hands into fists, but did not interrupt as Mystique continued with her tale. "My associates and I were working on developing ways of bringing out an individual's mutations early, giving young mutants the abilities that they would need in order to survive in a world where the inferior humans were often hostile to those born with the mutant gene. One of my associates, my superior, he had experienced horrible cruelty at the hands of these inferior humans, and had come to realize that they were so far below us, that they were as cockroaches, insects beneath our feet. He was determined that our kind would no longer be subjected to the abuses that he had to endure during his youth, and I was just as committed to his noble cause." She gave Kurt a rather sad look. "As I said before, freedom always comes at a price. You were mere days old at the time," she said quietly, "not old enough to consent or object to the procedure. My superior knew that a second-generation mutant such as yourself would likely grow to have very noticeable mutations, if and when these ever developed. He knew what you would have to endure when those mutations manifested, and thought that it would be in your interest to manifest those mutations early. So he did," she looked at where Kurt was staring back at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes, "and this is the result. Blue and beautiful, with athletic ability surpassing any mere human, but at the same time, likely to be persecuted and hated for having an appearance that many of the inferior humans have come to hate and fear."

"Stop calling humans that!" Kurt yelled at her, his eyes glowing angrily, "I spent my whole life with those people. I was loved and cared for by them. They gave me everything I could ever wish for, from food and shelter to love and acceptance. They gave me the opportunity to use my abilities to do something that I loved, a chance to feel valued and valuable, when these so-called homo superior could not be bothered to raise me themselves!"

"Ah, so you have inherited my temper after all," said Mystique with a small smile, "and these people who chose to adopt you, they worked you hard, made you turn their circus from a small unknown institution into one of the most successful circuses in Europe. They exploited you and your mutant abilities in order to maximise their profits, all for the price of a little food and water."

"Stop that!" Kurt shouted angrily, growling at Mystique, and showing his fangs. "You're twisting everything! They never exploited me! I was the star, and I had to work hard, but no harder than anyone else. And I loved it! I was popular, I was liked. Just because I wasn't some spoiled selfish mutant who thought others were below him doesn't mean that they exploited me!"

"Oh really?" asked Mystique sarcastically. "Are you trying to tell me that all of their actions towards you were actually based on love?"

Kurt glared at her, and folded his arms defiantly. "Yes," he said decisively.

She touched his cheek, in the exact place where Stefan had hit him. "I saw what your step-brother did to you, how he abused you physically. Are you trying to tell me that even that was an act of love?"

Kurt touched his face, and then shook his head. "Yes, even that was an act of love," he said after a long pause, "Stefan wanted to keep me safe, and lost his temper when he thought I was in danger. It turns out he was right about just about everything."

"He hit you," Mystique said, "and you claim that even that was an act of love? It seems that the inferior humans have mind-washed you out of your senses, my son."

"Stop calling them that!" Kurt yelled again, "I never experienced cruelty at the Szardos circus, only love. Which is more than I can say I ever received from you!"

Mystique merely smirked at his outburst. "Oh yes, my tale," she said. "Well, I did not approve of my superior's decision to experiment on such young children, those too young to understand, or to give their consent. I took you, now transformed into your mutant form, and ran away from him. He must have found out, for he sent wolves after us. Normally, healthy wolves would never attack people, but these wolves had received similar treatment to that which you had received at the hands of my superior. They had been changed, enhanced, given near human intelligence, a fierce loyalty to my superior, and an aggressive temperament rarely seen in normal wolves. They would not leave us alone." Mystique sighed, and for a moment, she looked genuinely sad. "I dropped you over the waterfall, tired and exhausted, as the wolves came closer. I knew that if I had remained in my human form, they would never have left me alone. I did not know at the time whether or not you had survived, but I expected that you had. The transformations that you experienced, they would have made you tough, able to survive much more than mere humans could ever endure. I changed my form into that of a raven; it has always been one of my favourite forms. I looked for you for days in the form of a raven. Then I found you with the sorceress Margali. She already had two small children of her own, and they were being raised reasonably well, considering that they were mere humans." Kurt growled at the comment, but Mystique merely ignored this. "I knew that you would be raised better by Margali than you would be by me, a wanted terrorist," she said, and her voice suddenly became rather quiet, and strangely humble, "life with me would have been harsh. You were better off with them."

Kurt slowly nodded. "They died," he said quietly, "all of the circus folk. Protecting me."

"So?" Mystique asked harshly. "They were mere humans. It is in their nature to kill each other. We are far above them, as I told you before. You are worth far more than any of them."

Kurt merely glared at her. "Stop that!" he growled. "I don't want to think like that! I won't! How dare you think we're so far above them when they were the ones who gave me love and comfort when they had every reason to hate and fear me! How dare you!"

"Still such an idealist," said Mystique, watching Kurt critically, "still, I suppose I should give credit where credit is due. At least they realised that you should be protected above all else, and were not inferior enough to sacrifice you in order to save their own skins."

Kurt looked away, and shook his head sadly. "I've longed for this meeting for a very long time," he said, "to finally be able to talk to you, to have the secrets of my life revealed to me. This isn't how I dreamed it would go at all."

"You've wanted to meet with me for a very long time, to have me explain all that I'm explaining to you right now," Mystique said, "and all it cost was the lives of a few circus gypsies."

Kurt shook his head sadly. "No, the price is much too high, if I'd have known that this would be the price, I never would have agreed to pay it. Better to never known, than to have those I love have to pay with their lives."

"As I told you before, the price of freedom is always high, my son," said Mystique. "I have a gift for you, a celebration, if you like, of you coming into your mutant abilities."

Kurt gave her a confused look. "But I thought that I developed my mutant powers in infancy, due to the experiments of your superiors," he said.

Mystique merely shook her head. "That is only partially correct," she said, "although you have a splendid mutant form, the gift of teleportation, the gift you used to save yourself from the fire, is an ability that you developed very recently."

"So that's how I ended up by the river," said Kurt thoughtfully, "if I could teleport to the river, why couldn't I just teleport out of the caravan in order to give myself up?"

Mystique gave him a derisive look. "Stop talking like that," she said, "you are worth far more than those mere humans, one of our kind should never consider sacrificing himself merely for their kind."

Kurt growled, but Mystique ignored his angry expression. She gave Kurt a surprisingly gentle smile. "It is a new and strange power for you, until you can control it better, this power will be almost unconscious, a flight or fight instinct that will prevent you from remaining in dangerous situations. It may yet save your life."

"But it's pretty useless for doing much more until I get it under control," Kurt said thoughfully, "yet I was able to teleport into this castle just by thinking about it."

Mystique smiled, and shrugged. "Well, it seems that your enhanced mutation might also be influencing the speed at which you develop your secondary mutant ability," she said, "no matter. As I said before, I have a gift for you." She held out the mirror to Kurt, who took it apprehensively.

Kurt examined it closely, turning it over a couple of times in his hands. "It's nice," he said at last, "but why give me a mirror?"

Mystique smirked at Kurt's confused expression. "Oh Kurt," she said. "This is no ordinary mirror. It is a magic mirror. It can show you scenes from the past or the present. It can show you things that happened long ago, or in far off lands."

Kurt grinned. "Thank you," he said sincerely, "I'm sure that it will prove to be useful."

For a long moment Mystique looked at him, an unreadable expression in her yellow eyes. "I have used this mirror all of these years to watch you from afar, my son, but now that your mutant gifts have developed, there is no reason for me to continue watching over you. Use the mirror how you will. I have only one request," she said.

Kurt looked up from examining the mirror. "Yes?" he asked.

Mystique looked almost sad as she examined Kurt closely. "Never ask the mirror anything about me," she said, "never ask it to show you where I am nor what I am doing, nor anything about my past. It is best, for you, that we never meet again. I know that many of the decisions that I have made in the past would not meet with your approval, and I don't want you to witness them. I do not want to earn your hate."

Kurt looked up at her, and managed a small smile. Mystique returned the smile, and indicated the mirror within Kurt's hands. "Ask it anything about me, and the magic will die, it will never again show you anything more insightful than your own reflection."

Kurt stared at the mirror for a long moment. "I understand," he said quietly.

Mystique nodded, and reached out to touch Kurt's cheek once more, in a surprisingly gentle gesture. "So beautiful," she said, "so smart and wise and good. I will never understand how someone like you could have come from something like me!" She stiffened suddenly, as though regretting her moment of weakness. "No matter. I must go now. Use the mirror as you see fit." She was about to make her way back over to the window, when Kurt called out to her.

"Wait!" he yelled.

Mystique turned back to him. "Yes?" she asked.

Kurt bit his lower lip, and looked up at her, uncertainty in his eyes. He looked down, and shook his head sadly. Mystique merely smiled, and stroked his cheek once more. "My poor little son," she said, "you must have many questions that you want answered."

Kurt merely nodded. "Thousands," he said quietly.

"I cannot wait around long enough to answer thousands of questions," Mystique replied sadly, "but I agree to answer one. You may ask me one more question before I leave."

"Just one?" Kurt looked at the mirror in his hand, and then back to Mystique. "Who was my father?" he asked after a long pause.

Mystique actually laughed when she heard the question. "Oh Kurt," she said, laughing quietly to herself, "did I ever tell you that I was your mother?"

Kurt's eyes widened in realisation, as Mystique waved at him. "Farewell, my son," she said. A moment later she had transformed back into the form of a large raven. She flew out of the window, and Kurt watched her fly until she vanished into the distance. As Kurt stared out over the horizon, the mirror in Kitty's hands darkened once more.

[1] Named for the _X-Men Evolution_ episode of the same name. Events within this chapter are particularly inspired by that episode.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Notes: As always, thanks for all the reviews. ****Lilac Rose6 – The circus is not far from the castle. In Chapter 10, when they pass by the castle, Stefan tells Kurt and Jimaine that they will be setting up the circus about half a mile away. Although the actual distance to the castle is never specified, it is close enough for them to be able to make out details as they pass by it, suggesting that it is within easy walking (and later teleporting) distance. The reason it took Kurt a while to get back to the circus from the river was because he was sick from a combination of smoke poisoning and stress at having his mutant power newly develop in one of the most terrifying ways possible, rather than it being a long way to travel. Margali is still in Italy, and unaware of the trouble back at the circus. Mystique calls Kurt 'son' and then goes on to suggest that she is not his mother. Since Mystique is a shape-shifter, able to take on both male and female forms, **_**she**_** is suggesting that she is actually Kurt's **_**father. **_**(Incidentally, in the comics, this was the original plan for Kurt's origin, with his mother being ****Irene Adler, codename Destiny. However, Marvel did not agree to this, because at that time the Comics Code Authority and Marvel policy prohibited the explicit portrayal of gay or bisexual characters. This is kind of ironic when you consider that one of the reasons X-men is so popular is because mutants can be considered as a metaphor for gay and other oppressed minority groups). Of course, Mystique is not exactly the most honest or reliable character, so she could be merely teasing Kurt, or it could be that she does not want to reveal that his father is in fact the demonic mutant Azazel, a mutant much more evil than Mystique, from one of the least popular X-men comics ever. Either explanation is quite in character for Mystique. I've tried to make her seem to be a rather ambivalent character, who is enough of a wild card to help Kurt through his grief, even if in a rather harsh manner. Mystique is hardly the personification of parental perfection, but she does seem to feel at least a small amount of affection toward Kurt. All characters in this chapter except for Porlock belong to Marvel, if you want to use Porlock in one of your stories, please ask permission first.**

_Porlock _

Kurt stared at the Little Nightcrawler doll, which stared back at him with unseeing yellow eyes. After a long moment, Kurt spoke to the doll, "Whatever else Mystique's lying about, she's right about at least one thing," he said. Bamf! He vanished in a bright flash of yellow light, followed by a cloud of purple smoke. He reappeared at the other side of the room. Turning his attention back to the Little Nightcrawler doll, he gave it a sad smile. "Sitting around, moping and feeling sorry for myself isn't helping anyone." Bamf! He disappeared once more, again in a flash of yellow light and a cloud of purple smoke. He reappeared by the window, shaking his head and panting in exhaustion. He spent a couple of minutes getting his breath back, and then walked over to the Little Nightcrawler doll. He examined it thoughtfully. "Jimaine, Stefan and all the others at the circus deserve better than that. They died so that I could live, and that means that I have to make sure that their sacrifices were worth it." Bamf! Once again, he disappeared in a flash of yellow light and a cloud of purple smoke, and this time, he reappeared upon the wooden rafters, just below the ceiling. His arms spun wildly as he lost his balance, his tail lashing behind him as he tried to regain his balance. It was a futile effort, and a moment later he fell to the stone floor with a loud crash. He sighed quietly, and slowly got to his feet. "Ouch," he said. He walked over to the Little Nightcrawler doll, and picked it up. "Right," he said, "so teleporting side to side is reasonably easy, but teleporting upwards is much more difficult. Right, well, that was a useful experiment." He wheezed slightly, obviously not wanting to admit that his experiment had taken a great deal of effort and energy. He put down the Little Nightcrawler doll, and picked up the magic mirror. He looked at the mirror critically. "So, Mystique thinks that I can use this mirror to watch others, does she?" he asked. "I wonder how it works." He shrugged. "Well, let's give it a try, shall we?" he said. "Show me the Szardos circus," he said, "um, please?"

There was a flash of light, and then Kurt gasped at what he saw. Kurt stared at the sad remains of the Szardos circus, at the bodies lying on the ground, and what remained of the caravans and tents. He gulped and began to lower the mirror, when he heard voices coming out of it. They were the voices of the Brotherhood of Protectors, and they were investigating what remained of the circus. Kurt turned his attention back to the mirror and saw that the Brotherhood members were examining the charred and burnt remains of the circus. Kurt frowned thoughtfully as he watched the Brotherhood, and listened to their conversations.

"I still don't see why we have to waste our time investigating the deaths of a few circus freaks, yo," said Todd, "I thought we were supposed to be investigating a mutant crime."

"Well, this looks like it might be the handiwork of a mutant," Lance replied, and Kitty gasped quietly at seeing him of all people within Kurt's magic mirror. Lance indicated the remains of the circus. "Seems that there's a good chance that this was caused by a mutant with some sort of ability relating to starting or controlling fires."

"Is that even possible, yo?" asked Todd.

Lance shrugged. "Don't see why not. There's a lad at the Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters who controls ice, there's no reason why there can't be a mutant with similar powers relating to fire."

"What bothers me," said Pietro, dashing up behind them, "is that I spent good money in order to see this circus perform on Friday. And now they're all dead, so I've wasted all that money for nothing. Does no-one here consider my pain?"

"That seems a little heartless," Todd mumbled, "I mean, I don't think they all died just to spite you."

Pietro glared at him. "Let's get one thing straight, Tolanski," he said, grabbing the front of his shirt and lifting him off of the ground, "I am everything, and you are nothing, you are just a snivelling little worm below my feet. Disrespect me again, and I will stomp on you, do you understand?"

Todd merely nodded, and Pietro let him drop to the ground. Pietro went over to one of the bodies, rummaged around for a while, and found some coins. He began to do the same to a few of the other bodies. Todd watched him, a disgusted look on his face. "Is this circus really that expensive?" he asked when Pietro started to gleefully count the money he had obtained from the dead bodies.

"No," Pietro replied, "this is compensation money. For the inconvenience of not being able to see the show when I bought tickets. I deserve to be adequately compensated, and this is how I intend to gain that compensation."

Lance shook his head. "Never mind that," he said, "Xavier wants us to investigate, so let's investigate."

"Already done, when you blinked," Pietro replied smugly. There's no-one left alive here. Let's go home, write a report, and if we're lucky, we might be able to leave work early."

"I didn't really expect to find any survivors," said Lance thoughtfully, "these are circus freaks, gypsies. It is in their nature to kill each other. They can't help it. This was probably the work of another gypsy group. They're always quarrelling with each other." He sighed. "We'll get back, do the paperwork today and come back tomorrow to bury all the bodies before more people start asking even more awkward questions."

"You're probably right," Todd agreed, although he sounded rather uncertain, "can't trust gypsy folk, they're probably responsible for this whole mess, yo."

"It weren't no gypsy folk that done this."

The Brotherhood turned around to see who had made the comment. There was a rather old tramp, with threadbare clothes and a long grey beard, staring at them with insane eyes. He wagged his finger in front of Lance's face. "T'was a demon, t'was," he said, nodding enthusiastically at Lance. The tramp reached down and grabbed a glass bottle by his feet. He took a long swig of some doubtlessly alcoholic liquid, and then grinned at the confused Brotherhood. "Porlock knows these things, yes he does," he said, nodding again, "seen it with his own eyes, yes he has."

"Who's Porlock?" asked Todd.

"That be me, boy, that be me," the tramp explained, "I been Porlock since I was a lad, and will be so until the day I die, yes I will."

"Well, Porlock," said Lance, trying to hide his amused grin, "what do you know about what happened here?"

"T'was a demon, yes it was, t'was straight out of the depths of the underworld itself, so it was," he said, taking another long drink from his bottle, and wiping his beard with the back of his hand. "Saw him I did, with my own eyes." He pointed to his own pale blue eyes, and nodded enthusiastically once more. "He had a hold of that one, so he did," he pointed towards the pathetic remains of Jimaine, "took the life from the poor lass, so it did. Just like it took the life of all the others here. Yes it did." He burped loudly, and took another swig of his drink.

"And what did this demon look like, yo?" asked Toad.

Porlock hiccupped, and put down his bottle. He glared at Todd, and pointed to his own eyes. "It had glowy yellow eyes," he said, nodding enthusiastically, "seems to stare right into you, they do. Scary creature. Blue as midnight, it was, with misshapen hands and feet like those of a dog or goat." He held up his own hands towards the rather bemused but nevertheless amused Brotherhood. "Its hands, they're not like real people hands," he spoke in a low whisper, as though he was sharing some deep, dark secret with the Brotherhood. "No, they got just two fingers on each hand, plus a thumb of sorts. Its legs be much the same. Long and slender, like those of a fawn." He picked up his bottle, and took another long swig. "Got two toes on each foot it does. Well, three really, but the third, well, those are on its heel, so the creature can't walk right. Walks like this, see?" With some difficulty, Porlock stood on the tips of his toes, and took a couple of steps forwards. He swayed backwards and forwards, and would have doubtlessly fallen flat on his face, if Todd had not managed to steady him in time. Pietro and Lance grinned at each other. It was clear that they did not believe a single word uttered by Porlock, but nevertheless found him an amusing distraction, as they watched him take another long drink from his bottle.

Porlock turned his attention to where Lance was trying desperately not to laugh at him. "Its blue," Porlock told him, "all over. From the tips of its pointy ears to the tips of its pointy tail, it's all blue. Except the eyes, they're yellow and glowy. Did I mention that it has glowy yellow eyes?"

"Yes, you did," said Lance, trying to look serious despite the smirk hidden behind his hands.

"It's got a tail, too," Porlock said, and took another long swig of his drink.

"It's got two tails?" Pietro asked, grinning at Lance.

"No, no, no!" Porlock shouted in annoyance. "It's got two shiny fangs that gleam in the light. One long tail," he held up a single finger, "one! And this tail, it looks like a snake slithering behind it all the time." He moved his hands from side to side, in a motion which might have indicated that of a snake, had he been sober. "Hiss, hiss, hiss! Like a snake!" he said.

"Well, old man," said Lance, somehow managing to avoid laughing out loud, "would you be willing to come back to Xavier with us, and make a statement?"

"A statement?" said Porlock. "That's one of them posh sentence things, isn't it?"

"What he means is," said Pietro quickly, "would you be willing to come back with us and talk to the man in charge of investigating these murders, and tell him what you just told us?"

Porlock gave Pietro an apprehensive look. "Back with you?" he asked uncertainly. "Will you give me more whisky if I come?"

The Brotherhood looked at each other, and shrugged uncertainly. Lance finally put his hand upon Porlock's shoulder. "We'll give you everything you need," he said reassuringly, "drink, food, some nice warm clothes and a proper chance to get cleaned up."

Porlock continued to look at him sceptically. Then he examined his bottle, and realised that there was no alcohol left within it. He shrugged, and nodded. "Well, I guess it can't hurt to come back and tells you all about this demon," he said uncertainly, "did I mention that it has glowy yellow eyes?"

"Yes, you did," said Lance, raising his own eyes skywards in exasperation.

As they made their way towards Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters, Todd edged towards Lance and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, yo," he whispered in his ear, "you don't really believe that this crazy saw a demon, do you? I mean, he's about twenty sandwiches short of a picnic, yo."

"Of course not," Lance whispered back, "but if he's our chance to get this over and done with using the minimum of effort, time and paperwork, then I'm not about to complain. The sooner this whole mess is over and done with, the better for everyone."

Todd nodded, and Kurt frowned as his mirror faded to black. Kurt put down the mirror, and picked up his Little Nightcrawler doll. "I really don't like the look of this," he told the doll quietly, "I really don't like the look of this at all."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes: Thanks again for the wonderful reviews.** **Lilac Rose6 – I have done some – ahem – research into the behaviour of drunken people, and Porlock is great fun to write, especially since I can largely ignore all of the rules concerning grammar when it comes to writing his dialogue. The circus has only been burnt down for a couple of days by this point, enough time for people to start to ask Xavier what happened and why; and enough time for Kurt to realise that he can't spend the rest of his life curled up in a ball feeling sorry for himself. That also means that Margali is going to be in Italy for at least a few more weeks (and therefore at least a few more chapters).**

_The Painting_

"Right," said Kurt, staring at the Little Nightcrawler doll, a determined expression on his face, "let's try this again." Bamf! There was a bright flash of yellow light, and then Kurt vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. He reappeared upon the wooden rafters just under the ceiling, in another cloud of purple smoke. He waved his hands and tail around wildly, trying to maintain his balance, but it was a futile effort. Still, rather than falling to the floor in an ungraceful heap, he managed to turn his fall into an impressive acrobatic manoeuvre, spinning and twirling in mid-air, before landing gracefully on all fours. He grinned up at the Little Nightcrawler doll. "Right," said Kurt again, getting his breath back, "well, that's a lot less than perfect, but better than the last time. At least I didn't hurt my tail." Kurt shook his head, and gave a sad little laugh. "I think this solitude is beginning to make me a little crazy," he said quietly, "I've started talking to a doll in order to avoid getting lonely." He picked up the magic mirror, and looked at it critically. "At least you enable me to maintain a connection to the world outside of this castle," he told it thoughtfully, "show me the Brotherhood, please."

There was a flash of light, and Kurt watched as the Brotherhood members brought Porlock to see the wizard-professor Charles Xavier. Logan stood behind Xavier, his arms folded, and a sceptical expression upon his face. "So let me see if I understand this correctly," said Logan, looking directly at Porlock, "you actually saw this supposed demon kill these people, right?" he sounded more than a little sceptical.

Porlock stared back at him. The old tramp had changed his clothes, and looked as if he had recently enjoyed a much needed bath, but he seemed just as insane as he had been back at the remains of the circus. "See it all, yes I dids," he said, staring back at Logan, "with my own eyes, I dids. Sees it take the life of the young missy, I did. Had her on its lap so it did." He turned his attention to Xavier, and gave him a sad look. "Poor lass didn't have a chance against something like that, no she didn't." Porlock then looked at Lance, and pointed to his own eyes. "Did I mention that it has glowy eyes?" he asked.

"Yes," Lance replied, rolling his own eyes, "about a dozen times," he added in an undertone.

"Mister Porlock, I do appreciate your cooperation in this matter," said Xavier seriously, "and I must assure you that we take matters of this nature very seriously indeed. We will investigate this matter to the best of our ability, but we may require further cooperation from you in order to adequately conduct our investigation."

Porlock nodded enthusiastically. "I want that thing returned back to the depths from where it came, I do," he said, glaring at Xavier with crazy eyes. "I'll help you all I can, but first, could I have something to drink?" he asked, his tone almost pleading.

"We will happily provide you with another mug of tea, or any other non-alcoholic drink of your choice," replied Xavier pointedly.

Porlock slumped and sighed when he heard that, and it was clear that he was more than a little disappointed. "I'd much rather prefer whisky," he muttered quietly, then added, "a nice cup of tea would be appreciated very much, sir, warms me old bones at least."

"Quite," said Xavier, handing him a cup of steaming hot liquid. Then, as the door to the room opened, he gestured towards the newcomer, a tall, muscular young man with dark hair and gentle eyes. "This is one of my students, Piotr Rasputin, codename Colossus," he said calmly, "Piotr is a rather gifted artist, and should be able to aid you in creating a realistic representation of this demon in pictorial form, if you will be so kind as to describe what you saw to him in detail, so that he might capture a likeness of this demon in canvas."

"You mean he's going to paint a pretty picture of the demon?" Porlock asked sceptically.

"Exactly," Xavier replied.

Piotr nodded his head once, as Xavier handed him canvas and paints. Kitty had always rather liked Piotr, ever since he had helped her to adjust to her new life at the Xavier Academy for Gifted Youngsters, three months ago. Piotr was incredibly strong and muscular, yet he also had a very compassionate nature and a gentle, artistic soul. Kurt, however, watched him through the mirror with worry and uncertainty reflected in his yellow eyes. Xavier explained the situation to Piotr, who eventually left with the Brotherhood to an adjacent room, where he could create his painting without any unnecessary interruptions. Logan watched as the small group left, and then turned his attention back to Xavier. "You don't really believe Porlock, do you Chuck? He's as crazy as a coot, and quite possibly the least reliable witness we could have possibly come across."

Xavier merely sighed. "Be that as it may, he nevertheless is a witness, however potentially unreliable he may be," he said quietly, "it would be remiss of me not to investigate every possible lead in this investigation, regardless of how potentially unreliable those leads turn out to be. The sad fact of the matter is that there are many people who were killed recently, and there is a real possibility that they were not killed by natural means. If that is the case, then there is a real possibility that an unnatural being was responsible for those deaths."

"Like a demon?" Logan asked sceptically.

"Possibly," Xavier admitted, "I sensed no intentional deception from Mister Porlock, although I do take your point that any information gained from him is questionable at best."

Logan snorted, and folded his arms over his chest. "He's as crazy as they come," he said.

"Be that as it may, it does not automatically mean that his information is necessarily incorrect. He believes that he has valuable information which can help us to find a killer," Xavier said, "which means that at the very least, it is our responsibility to investigate this matter, even if only to prove once and for all that this witness is indeed unreliable. But until that proves to be the case, I intend to investigate this matter to the best of my ability, and that means examining all of the information that Mister Porlock gives to us, even when that information seems to be very unlikely indeed."

Logan merely shrugged. "If you say so, Chuck," he said sceptically, "personally, I think we're wasting both our time and our resources investigating any information that Mister Porlock gives us."

"That, my friend, is a very distinct possibility," Xavier admitted, "but until I know that for sure, I intend to investigate this demon, and what part it had to play in this very real crime."

Logan merely shrugged again. Kurt bit his lower lip as his mirror went dark. Worriedly, Kurt put down the mirror, and picked up his Little Nightcrawler doll. "This looks like trouble," he said, "serious trouble for me." He put down the doll, and picked up the mirror once more, and looked at it sceptically for a long moment. "Show me the Brotherhood of Protectors," he said after a long pause.

Kurt's mirror flashed, and showed him where the Brotherhood members were currently watching in some amusement, as Porlock told Piotr how to paint the demon.

"No, No, No!" said Porlock. "A little scarier, a lot more anger in the expression. A lot more grr!" he growled and made an angry face.

Piotr dutifully amended his picture, and Porlock nodded enthusiastically at the alterations he made. "Yes, that's it; this thing has to look more like a demon from the depths of the darkest pits, much better, much scarier, that's great!"

Kurt watched Piotr painting as he made changes to the portrait. Kurt creased his brow, and watched the scene before him with a sceptical expression upon his face. He turned to the Little Nightcrawler doll, and frowned at it. "I don't look anything like that, do I?" he asked. He picked up the mirror, turned it on its side, and then upside-down. "Well, maybe a little," he admitted grudgingly, "the colours are fine, the perspective's not too bad either, but it makes me look almost scary." He put his hand over his heart in a theatrical manner, as though deeply wounded by the very suggestion. "That Colossus there has completely failed to capture my innate good looks and playful, charming personality within that picture, I really should berate him for such an oversight." Kurt suddenly became serious, all trace of his former playfulness instantly gone. "All the same, that picture does look enough like me for the people here to be able to recognise me on sight. They think I'm some sort of monster, some sort of demon, rather than a harmless blue fuzzball, and I doubt that they would give me an opportunity to explain my side of the story in order to clear my name." Kurt watched, in silence, as Porlock continued to guide Piotr as he carefully painted the likeness of Kurt upon the canvas. After he had watched them for several minutes, Kurt turned his attention back to the Little Nightcrawler doll. "I'm going to have to explain my side of the story to this Brotherhood of Protectors, aren't I?" he asked it nervously.

Unsurprisingly, the Little Nightcrawler doll did not reply.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad you're still enjoying this story.**

_Kurt and the Brotherhood _

Kurt watched as new member, Tabitha Smith, joined the Brotherhood of Protectors. The Brotherhood had returned to the circus grounds, and had just finished burying the sad remains of Kurt's friends and family. The Brotherhood members were telling her all about Porlock, including his drunken ravings concerning a blue, murderous demon. Lance handed her the painting, which she inspected critically. "So we're coming back to the scene of the crime in case this thing returns here?" she asked.

Lance rolled his eyes skywards. "How naive," he muttered, "chances are, there's no demon and this painting is merely the product of the hallucinations of a drunken, crazy old man."

"Then why are we still looking for this demon?" asked Tabitha.

"Because," Pietro responded, running up behind her, "this thing is a convenient scapegoat to get rid of this whole mess once and for all."

"Exactly," replied Lance, "the simple truth of the matter is that there's a lot of people dead, and that always makes people feel uncomfortable and scared. Now, these were circus folk, gypsies, so no-one knows what really happened to them, but the people don't want whatever happened to these gypsies to happen to themselves or their kin." Lance gave a huge sigh. "Chances are that these gypsies argued with another gypsy tribe, that tribe argued back, and before you know it there's a feud the size of a war going on. The other gypsy tribe probably killed this gypsy tribe because it stole something from them, or looked at them in a way that they didn't like, or wore the wrong sort of clothes for all I know or care. Who knows why gypsies kill each other, it's just their way."

Tabitha frowned, but did not respond. Pietro nodded towards Lance, and then pointed towards the town. "But the people over there, they want us to protect them, the ungrateful wretches, so that means that we have to investigate why this tribe was destroyed," he said, "so that's what we're here to do. But there's no other gypsy tribe around here, probably had enough sense to move on as soon as it killed this tribe. It could be halfway across Europe by now, for all we know."

"The fact of the matter is that people are getting agitated and starting to ask questions that they want us to answer," said Lance. "The old tramp said that he saw a demon, and that the demon caused this mess. So we make a half-hearted attempt to find this demon, tell Xavier that we could find no evidence of it here, and the people in the town come to reason that the demon probably returned to wherever it came from. The people are happy, and everyone can go home early. It's a perfect solution."

Kurt watched the Brotherhood for a few more minutes, then put down the mirror and picked up his Little Nightcrawler doll. He gave it a mischievous, conspiratorial smile. "This is probably a bad idea," he confided in it, "but I really can't resist teasing them, just a little bit. I think it's time that I introduced myself to this Brotherhood of Protectors, don't you?" He put down the doll, and then vanished in a bright yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke.

Kurt teleported near the Brotherhood, and quickly scampered up the nearest tree. Kurt grinned as Lance told Tabitha that Porlock was merely a drunk and delusional old man, who had simply imagined that he had seen a demon. Tabitha examined the painting in her hand closely, as Lance continued, "So it seems to me," Lance said arrogantly, "that there's no way in the world that a creature like this could exist, anyway."

Kurt grinned, his fangs gleaming in the sunlight. He wrapped his tail around the nearest branch, and then dropped down right in front of the startled Brotherhood. Lance jumped nearly a foot in the air, and Todd yelped in surprise. Kurt tapped Tabitha on the shoulder, and grabbed the painting with his other hand. Kurt examined the portrait closely, turning it on its side and upside-down. He grinned at the Brotherhood. "You know, I think you're right," he said, after examining the painting for nearly a minute, "a creature like this just could not exist, it looks far too scary. Don't you think so?" Kurt grinned again, and turned the painting around, so that the Brotherhood could examine it.

Tabitha seemed to recover from her surprise first, as she took two steps towards where Kurt was dangling in front of her. "It doesn't look that scary to me," she said, examining Kurt critically.

Kurt smiled at her. "As so often happens, the lady is the only member of the group to have any sense," he said. He turned to the rest of the Brotherhood, who were examining him with a mixture of confusion and fear. "So, you've got your artists painting portraits of me now, have you?" he asked, turning his attention back to the painting, and examining it critically once more. "I guess I should be flattered. Still, after a careful examination of this painting, I have decided that I give it seven and a half out of ten. The composition and colours are fine, the perspective is pretty good, and all things considered, it's not a bad likeness considering that it was painted by someone who never had the good fortune to meet me. But it makes me look much too scary, and has failed to capture my natural good looks and infinite charm." He grinned at the Brotherhood, and then handed the picture to the rather confused Todd, who grudgingly took it, and handed it back to Lance. Kurt looked at each of the Brotherhood members in turn, grinning and showing his fangs. "Could do better," he said.

Todd looked at him critically, finally overcoming his fear. "It doesn't look that much like a demon to me," he said thoughtfully, "looks more like some sort of ratty child's toy."

Kurt gave him a long look, then took a sniff of Todd, and held his nose. "At least I don't smell like unwashed lederhosen,"[1] he replied.

Todd merely looked confused, and whispered to Lance, "What's lederhosen?"

Lance merely shrugged.

"Look, this is stupid," said Pietro, obviously losing his patience. He raced to where Kurt was dangling in front of Todd, and pointed a finger at Kurt. "This thing can talk, clearly has some limited intelligence," he ignored Kurt's snort of indignation, "and is able to reason and think. Let's just find out why it killed all of these gypsy's, and then we can go home."

"Who said I killed anyone?" Kurt asked. "And by the way, we prefer the term Roma to gypsy," he added.

"Did you kill these people?" Tabitha asked.

Kurt's bright smile suddenly faded, as he became very serious. He shook his head. "I cannot deny that I was partially responsible for their deaths," he said quietly.

"See," Pietro said, pointing at Kurt, "that thing admits it."

"No, it wasn't like that," Kurt held up his hands defensively.

Todd interrupted him, "Yo, if this thing really did kill these people, then we should really get rid of it before it strikes again," he said.

"You're right," Lance replied, unsheathing his bow and arrows, and aiming them at Kurt.

"No, wait, let me explain," Kurt said defensively, but Lance did not want to wait. He aimed one of his arrows, which flew directly towards Kurt. Hurriedly, Kurt vanished in a flash of bright light and a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke, a mere moment before the arrow was about to kill him. Within a moment, Kurt had teleported back to the castle. He walked over to his Little Nightcrawler doll, picked it up and examined it closely. He gave a huge sigh. "Well, that could have gone better," he said.

[1] Direct quote from the first X-men Evolution episode, _Strategy X_. Kurt says this to Toad.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Dragoncat - It would have been a lot more sensible for Kurt to have simply said that he was not responsible for those deaths, but then I never intended Kurt to be an infallible, perfect character, he's as capable of making mistakes and poor choices as everyone else. He's also been through a great deal of stress recently, and still feels guilty about the deaths of his family and friends, and has not yet had a chance to confess his guilt. Considering all of that, it does seem sensible that he would admit to being partially responsible for their deaths, even if, logically, it was a rather stupid thing to say. ****Sweetheart14879 – I'll try to continue updating at least once a week, but I think it will be a while before this story is finished, since it looks like it will end up being the size of a small novel (i.e. 50,000 words or more) and I have to fit it around my other commitments, such as work and studies. ****Pointyearsrule - glad you're still reading and enjoying this story. I wanted to add a bit of humour after all of the death and darkness of the past few chapters, but the last thing I want is for Kurt to come off as uncaring or ****callous. His compassion and sense of humour are two of his most endearing qualities, especially the way he copes with sadness by making jokes, and that's what I wanted to get across within this story. I'm also glad you like Porlock, I'm always a bit wary about focusing too much on original characters within fan-fictions, since it's the canon characters people are interested in reading about, rather than original characters. Now on with the tale;**

_Tabitha_

Kitty watched as Kurt slowly turned the Castle of Death into a liveable, if not exactly luxurious, home for himself. She watched with fascination, and no small amount of pity, as Kurt used his magic mirror and teleporting ability to scavenge everything that he required, from food to furniture. Kurt never resorted to stealing, but he did not need to, since the people in the town tended to be very wasteful. They would throw away a perfectly decent loaf of bread because it was the wrong shape or size, or throw away perfectly good furniture simply because it was old and slightly worn. Kurt usually tried to avoid being seen, scavenging mostly at night, and keeping to the shadows during the day. There were, however, times when he was spotted, when people would see him vanish in a sulphurous cloud of purple smoke. Inevitably, rumours about these sightings started to grow, as stories about the Demon of Bayville were told around camp fires, tales that both frightened and amused those who listened to them. Kurt would sometimes listen to these tales, although he always remained hidden, watching in complete silence as the legend of the Demon of Bayville gradually developed. It was clear to Kitty that Kurt was becoming lonely, and that his desire for human companionship and affection sometimes led him into dangerous situations. Hidden within the shadows, he would watch the people of the town as they went about their daily activities, and it was clear that he desperately wanted to be a part of their society. He longed to converse with the townsfolk, to work and laugh and play with them, to be as friendly and sociable as he had been back when he had been a member of the circus. The few times he attempted to talk to the townsfolk, however, had always ended in disaster. The people of the town were clearly terrified of him, and whenever he attempted to talk to them, they would either run away screaming, attack him, or in one instance, throw holy water over him. The holy water had no effect on him whatsoever, apart from making rather wet and slightly irritated, but it was clear that the people of the town were not interested in socialising with him, and Kurt's loneliness and longing for human companionship only continued to grow.

Kurt also started to create a garden for himself upon the grounds surrounding the castle. He planted vegetables and fruit trees, and cultivated a small area where he grew mushrooms. Despite the soil being fertile and rich, his garden did not provide him with nearly enough food to satisfy his voracious appetite, so he had little choice but to scavenge most of what he needed. Despite this, it never even seemed to occur to him that he could use his power for evil, that the ability to see almost anything and teleport almost anywhere could give him near omnipotent power, that he could terrify and hurt those who feared and hated him. Occasionally he would play tricks on people, but only when they were being complete jerks who deserved much worse. Kitty smiled as she watched Kurt. If he truly had been a demon, there was no doubt that he could have been a really terrifying enemy, but Kurt had absolutely no interest in evil or power, preferring to simply watch the townsfolk from the shadows, and long to be a part of their world.

Kurt held up his magic mirror, and asked it to show him the Brotherhood of Protectors. He frowned, and shook his head sadly, as he listened to their conversation. "...I'm telling you all, you're worrying needlessly," said Lance to Tabitha.

"Well, it did say that it killed all those people," Tabitha said reasonably.

"No, it didn't," Lance said. "It said that it was partially responsible for their deaths, it's a subtle but important difference. I don't think that creature's a danger to anyone, and I certainly don't want to waste time hunting it down."

"Then what do you think really happened to those circus folk?" asked Tabitha.

Lance paused, stroked his chin, and shrugged. "Who knows for sure?" he said. "That creature seemed to feel something resembling guilt and regret concerning what happened to them," he said thoughtfully. "Chances are, it was part of some freak show or something similar at the circus, I've heard of acts like that before. Anyway, along comes some well-meaning interfering individual, who requests that the creature be freed and given rights or something like that. The circus refuses, the interfering outsider gets mad, threatens to burn down the circus if it does not comply with his demands. The circus continues to refuse, the outsider sets fire to the circus, the fire gets out of hand, and our well-meaning outsider frees the freak. The monster blames itself for their death; the old tramp sees it sniffing around its old circus remains, and we end up having to investigate the whole mess. Or something like that. Anyway, that's not what's important right now. The fact of the matter is; we've got a perfect scapegoat now, someone to take the blame for everything."

"Lance is right," said Pietro, "it's about time we had a break like this. The freak could be the best thing that's happened to us in years."

"Scapegoat?" asked Tabitha. "What do you mean?"

"It's like this," Pietro explained, "we've had to protect the normals that hate and fear us for so long, but they never give us the respect and honour we deserve."

"Quicksilver's right," continued Lance, "we protect them, yet they treat us like we are nothing, like we are dirt beneath their boots. Well, I say, no more. We are the next stage of human evolution; we are as far above them as they are above insects, and I say that it's time we took the rewards that we rightfully deserve."

Tabitha folded her arms over her chest, and gave Lance a sceptical look. "I'm still not sure I know what you're talking about," she admitted.

"I'm saying," said Lance, "that I'm tired of protecting the ungrateful, unwashed masses. I'm saying, from now on we no longer get the dregs from their tables, instead we take the wealth that we deserve."

"In simple terms," said Pietro, "we take from the rich travellers, rather than protect them. Then we blame the demon, since everyone seems to be willing to blame it anyway, so that part's easy enough. We get wealthy, it gets the blame. It's the perfect plan."

"You're planning on stealing from the wealthy?" Tabitha asked.

"Exactly," replied Lance, "just like Robin Hood, you know, the English outlaw with a band of merry men?"

"And who redistributed the wealth to the poor," Tabitha said pointedly, "yes, I know the story. I think practically everyone does."

"And of course, we're the poor," Pietro said, giving Tabitha an evil grin, "so the wealth will be redistributed amongst us."

"I really don't like the sound of this plan, yo," muttered Todd.

Pietro picked him up by the collar of his shirt, and glared at him. "Have you got a problem with this plan?" he demanded menacingly.

Todd, eyes wide with fear, put his hands up in defeat. "Me? No, no problem at all, it's a good plan, it really is," he said hurriedly, "by the way, could you put me down now, please?" he practically begged. Pietro dropped him, and then wiped his hands on a handkerchief in disgust.

Tabitha looked from Todd, to Pietro, to Lance. "So you're suggesting that we become highwaymen?" she asked.

"To supplement our income, my dear," said Lance, putting a reassuring arm around her shoulder.

"And what is to happen to our victims?" Tabitha asked warily.

"Clients," said Pietro, "not victims, these people will be our clients, let's use the correct terminology, shall we?"

Lance merely shrugged. "If they give in without a fight, we let them go about their business," he said, "that way; we will have the opportunity to take from them again."

"And if they don't?" Tabitha asked quietly.

Lance gave her an evil grin, and then mimed slitting his own throat, making his intentions obvious. Tabitha gasped, and shook her head. "Don't be like that, Tabby," said Lance, "they're just human after all. It's not like they're real people, not like us. Hey, if it makes you feel any better, we'll give them a chance to escape with their lives. At least, if they don't prove to be troublesome." He grinned evilly.

Tabitha pulled away from Lance, and glared at him. "No, Lance," she said determinedly, "I'm all for taking the occasional perk, for the odd bit of tax evasion or turning a blind eye to minor crimes, but this goes way beyond that. You're talking about murder, plain and simple, and I want nothing to do with something that evil."

"Fine," said Pietro, pointing towards the door. "If you're not with us, you're against us. Now get out. The door is that way."

Tabitha examined all of the Brotherhood members in turn. Most of them seemed to be frightened, especially Todd, who was whimpering in the corner of the room. Tabitha turned her attention back to Pietro, and glared at him. "Fine, have it your way," she said, "but don't think I'm going to let you get away with this. I'm going to tell Xavier just what you're planning, and then you'll wish that you never concocted this stupid scheme of yours." She banged the door as she left the building.

Lance shook his head in disgust, and then turned his attention back to Pietro. "You'd better follow her," he said. "She might be bluffing, but I don't want to risk it. I don't want her getting word to Xavier."

"Right," said Pietro, and a moment later, he had vanished.

Kurt watched Tabitha for a while longer, as she furiously stormed away from the rest of the Brotherhood. "Tabitha," said Kurt thoughtfully, "maybe my best hope to sort this whole mess out is to try and make friends with her, to get her on my side." Without another word, Kurt vanished in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of sulphurous, purple smoke.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes: Thanks once again for all the great reviews, you make all the time and effort I've spent working on this story worthwhile. Dragoncat – I'm afraid you're right, as this chapter shows. ****Yellow-eyed-wonder (blushes) – thanks for the complement, I am trying to capture all of the character's personalities and motivations as much as possible within this story. Now, back to Tabitha and Kurt;**

**Warning – character death**

_The Victim_

"Good morning Tabitha," said Kurt, appearing all of a sudden in a tree just above Tabitha's head. He grinned at her, but was being careful not to show his fangs.

Tabitha gasped in surprise, and then giggled when she saw Kurt dangling by his tail from the nearest tree. "Oh, hello Blue," she said. Although there was a small amount of wariness within her tone of voice, there was little fear.

Kurt pointed to himself, "Nightcrawler," he said. "At the circus, I was called the Incredible Nightcrawler, whenever I performed.

Tabitha gave him a critical look. "That name really doesn't suit you," she said, "how about Wild Blue Yonder instead?"

Kurt laughed, "Or you could just call me Incredible," he suggested, "or Kurt. What you call me isn't important, but Nightcrawler is fine. Although I have to admit, it was several years before I learnt that a night crawler is also a type of worm. You have no idea how much Stefan teased me when I first found that out."

Tabitha laughed, "You can call me Boom-Boom," she said, "or Tabby. I don't really mind which."

"Tabby," said Kurt thoughtfully, "like a tabby cat?"

Tabitha laughed, and gave Kurt a meaningful look, "Says the demon with the glowing yellow eyes and long tail and catlike grace," she teased.

"And the soft kitty fur," said Kurt, grinning as he jumped down from the tree and landed beside her. He held her hands within his own, "Not to mention the adorably cute little fangs."

Tabitha shook her head, and absently stroked Kurt's hands. "I'm still trying to make sense of you, Blue," she admitted.

Kurt looked down, and suddenly became very serious, "You know I'm not really a demon, don't you?" he asked, and there was just the slightest hint of pleading within his tone of voice.

"Then what are you?" asked Tabitha.

"Same as you. A mutant. Just a second generation mutant," Kurt said, "which explains my rather adorable cat-like appearance," he grinned at her once more.

"Well, I've never seen a second generation mutant before, except for Pietro, and he sort of looks normal," Tabitha admitted.

"That's because he's a jerk," explained Kurt confidently, "the nasty second generation mutants look normal, but the good ones, the playful and fun ones look unique and adorable. At least that's my theory."

Tabitha laughed, "Well, you're right about him being a jerk, at least," she admitted, "I'm not sure about the rest, though."

Kurt laughed, but a moment later, he once again became very serious. "Tabitha," he said sincerely, "you know that I didn't kill all of those poor people, don't you?" he almost begged, tightening his grip upon her hands as he did so.

For a long moment, Tabitha was silent, as she stared Kurt directly in the eye, as if searching for any trace of deception. Finally, she sadly turned away and shook her head, "I want to believe you, Blue, I really do," she said quietly. "But the sad fact is that there are far too many people dead, and it looked like they were not killed by natural means. There is some evidence linking you to their murder, however questionable that evidence might be. I don't want to be responsible, even indirectly, for any more deaths. That means that I can't trust you, at least, not yet," she said sadly.

Kurt looked down, and let go of her hands. He sighed, "I understand," he said quietly, "I guess if I was in your place, I'd feel the same way. I was indirectly responsible for the death of my entire circus family, and I don't think it will ever stop hurting. I wouldn't want to inflict that upon anyone, and certainly not a lovely lady like yourself."

"Flatterer," muttered Tabitha, "so tell me, what really happened?"

Kurt gave a huge sigh once more, "Lance isn't entirely wrong about what happened at my circus," he said quietly, "they were family, my friends, my kin, in a very real sense, they were my life. They were never cruel to me. My mother, Margali, she could be strict sometimes, but she was never cruel. I knew nothing except love and acceptance for as long as I can remember. No-one ever put me in a cage or anything like that. No, I was the star of the show, the Incredible Nightcrawler. I would spend my days exploring with my brother and sister, and spent my nights performing in front of an awed crowd. It was glorious." He smiled at the memories. "You should have seen our show; there was a reason why it was so popular. Watch," with that, he did a double back-flip, and landed upon Tabitha's shoulders. Tabitha gasped out in surprise, but then laughed. Kurt jumped down to the ground once more, "I would spend my time on the high-wire, juggling or pretending to fence with my partner. I could not have been happier, I had everything I could possibly want, a home, a family, and a chance to do something I loved."

"Sounds wonderful," Tabitha admitted.

Kurt nodded, "It was. There's a reason why people who are having a hard life sometimes run away to the circus, although a lot of time they don't realised that living and working within the circus is also a lot of hard work."

"What happened?" Tabitha asked.

Kurt looked down, his smile suddenly fading. He pointed to his own face, "When you look like this, well, there are those who misinterpret what you are. There was a wizard; he called himself Morttoten, although I don't know whether or not that was his real name. He thought I was some sort of demon, and so wanted my circus family to give me up to him. Of course, they refused," he shook his head sadly, "and paid the ultimate price. That's what I meant when I said that I was partially responsible for their deaths. They died trying to protect me, trying to save me. It wasn't as if I wanted them to come to any harm. After all, why would I? They were the only friends and family I had ever known."

Tabitha looked at Kurt critically for a moment, and then looked away. "So how did you survive?" she asked quietly.

"Like this," Kurt replied, and then vanished in a flash of yellow light and a cloud of purple smoke. A moment later, he reappeared upon Tabitha's head. Tabitha laughed as Kurt vaulted down, and landed on his hands and knees beside her. Kurt grinned at her for a moment, but then suddenly became very serious once more. "It was the first time that I'd ever teleported," he said. "I didn't do it intentionally, it just sort of happened. I was trapped inside the caravan as it was burning down, and I thought about safety and water. Then, I sort of thought towards safety and water," he gave her an apologetic smile, "I'm not sure that I can explain it any better than that," he admitted, "and then, somehow, I found myself by a waterfall, not far from here. I've been practicing my teleporting since then, and now I can more or less teleport anywhere within about a two mile radius."

Tabitha gave him a thoughtful look, "It must have been terrifying," she said.

Kurt merely nodded, "I don't think I've ever been more scared," he admitted.

"There's just one thing that I don't quite understand," Tabitha said, "and that's how you knew what Lance said concerning what happened to your circus."

Kurt grinned, "I have a magic mirror," he said, "it shows me anything I want to see. I asked it to show me the Brotherhood, because I was afraid that they were going to cause trouble. It seems that I was right."

"Where did you get this mirror?" asked Tabitha.

"My mother gave it to me," Kurt replied, and then frowned, "or possibly my father," he said. "But that's not what's important right now. What is important is that the Brotherhood are planning to do some pretty evil things, and to use me as some sort of scapegoat. That's why I need your help," he said.

"What do you want me to do?" Tabitha asked cautiously.

Kurt gave her a crooked smile, "Just tell Xavier what I told you. That I didn't kill those people, and that the Brotherhood are concocting some pretty evil plans."

Tabitha shook her head, "Sorry, Blue," she said sadly, "but, as I told you before, I still can't be sure that you were not responsible for those deaths. I do intend to tell Xavier about the Brotherhood's evil schemes, though," she added.

Kurt looked down to the ground, and shook his head sadly, "I need someone to believe me," he said, a note of desperation in his tone of voice.

"Why don't you go to the wizard-professor yourself?" Tabitha asked.

"I'm afraid," Kurt admitted guiltily, "afraid that they'll kill me on sight, and not give me the chance to explain my side of the story."

"That does make sense," Tabitha admitted.

"Please Tabby, I've seen so much within the magic mirror, and I'm so scared, I really need someone who will trust me," said Kurt desperately.

Tabitha gave him a pitying look, but to her obvious surprise, Kurt suddenly burst out laughing. "I'm such an idiot sometimes!" he said. "Why didn't I think of this sooner? The magic mirror, it shows only the truth. Well, I am swinging on a trapeze without a harness when it comes to this sort of magic," he grinned at Tabitha's bewildered expression, "sorry, it's a circus metaphor," he explained. "It means that I don't really know what I'm doing, and that I'm trying to learn how things work as I go along. But I can let you use the mirror; can show you what really happened to my circus family. I've never used it that way before, but I don't see why I should not be able to show you my past. I was given no restriction against using it in that manner."

Tabitha gave him a quizzical look, "What are you suggesting, Blue?" she asked.

"That you let me show you my past using the magic mirror, so that I can prove my innocence," said Kurt. "I'll only be gone an instant. I always leave the mirror back at the castle, so that it does not get broken or damaged, but I can teleport there and back almost instantly. If I can prove my innocence, will you at least try and help me?" he asked her, his eyes almost begging.

"I promise that I'll listen," said Tabitha, "and at least consider everything that you show me. Is that enough?"

"Thank you!" Kurt said, suddenly pulling Tabitha into a tight embrace, "that's all I want. Thank you so very much!" his tone was filled with both gratitude and relief.

Tabitha laughed, "Now let go, I can hardly breathe with you holding onto me so tightly," she said playfully.

Kurt let go of her, and grinned apologetically, "Sorry," he said. "Stay here, I'll only be gone a moment." Then he vanished in a flash of bright yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke.

Unfortunately, it only took a moment for Pietro to act. Tabitha did not stand a chance, as his foil suddenly slit her throat. Lifelessly, she fell to the ground, as Pietro vanished once more into the forest. A moment later, Kurt teleported back, holding his magic mirror triumphantly in his hands, "See, all you have to do is ask it about what happened at the Szardos circus, and it will show you that I was not responsible for..." his voice trailed off as he saw Tabitha's lifeless body lying on the ground. Tentatively, he reached towards her, pulling her closer to himself, "Tabby?" he said quietly, "Boom-Boom? This is some sort of horrible joke, right?" He held her in a tight embrace, sobbing quietly. "No, this can't be happening, not again," he said, "how many more people are going to die because they tried to help and protect me?" he inspected her wound, as if that might, miraculously, bring her back to life. He stroked her hair gently, as tears started to fall down his cheeks. "I'm sorry!" he said quietly. "So very, very sorry. I should never have asked you to help me, I should have realised that the risk would be much too great." For a long moment, he stayed there, cradling Tabitha's body in a gentle embrace. After a while, his pointed ears twitched, as though he could hear something important. Gasping quietly, he quickly hid in one of the nearby bushes.

"...And if what Jubilee says is correct, there used to be an acrobat at the circus who would dress up like a demon and do all sorts of stunts on the tightrope. But it seems that this pretend demon got the attention of a real demon, who got angry at the acrobat for mocking him, and so burned down the whole circus," said a tall girl with red hair and a Scottish accent. Kitty recognised her immediately as her friend and classmate, Rahne Sinclair, who had the codename Wolfsbane due to her ability to transform into the form of a wolf.

"I heard that, too," said her companion, a rather pretty girl with dark hair and brown eyes. Kitty recognized her immediately as another one of her fellow students, Amara Aquilla, who had the codename Magma, due to her ability to connect to the earth and control volcanic activity.

Rahne nodded absently, but then suddenly became very still. She sniffed the air, and made a low growl.

"Rahne, what's wrong?" asked Amara in a worried tone of voice.

"I'm not sure," Rahne admitted uncertainly, "but there's something wrong around here, there's a smell of waste and death. The wolf within me can feel it."

Amara gave her friend a worried look, as Rahne transformed into the shape of a large, brown wolf. She sniffed the air, and then ran towards where Kurt was hiding within the bushes. She stopped suddenly when she saw the sad remains of Tabitha, and began to howl. It was a low, sad sound, full of emotion and grief. Amara ran after her, and a moment later, she too stopped beside the lifeless remains of Tabitha. Amara paled considerably as she got down on bended knees, and held one of Tabitha's hands. "She's not...?" Amara choked, and was unable to finish the sentence.

Rahne changed back into human form, and got down on her knees next to Amara. "Dead?" she said quietly, not taking her eyes off of Tabitha. "Aye. See where her throat has been slit. The wolf would know if she had miraculously survived, but it senses nothing but death and waste."

Amara continued to stare at Tabitha, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I knew her," she said, her voice strangely devoid of emotion, "her name was Tabitha, but everyone called her Tabby. She could be a little crazy sometimes, but she was always kind to me, helped me to settle into the Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters when I first arrived there. She joined the Brotherhood of Protectors a few weeks ago."

Rahne nodded thoughtfully, "That explains why their scent is all over her," she said, still not looking away from Tabitha's body, "but there's also another scent, and this one's strange and fresh. I believe that the killer might still be around here." Amara turned her attention to Rahne as the Scottish mutant once more changed into the form of a wolf. Rahne sniffed the air, and then ran towards where Kurt was still hiding within the bushes. Kurt, obviously panicking, leapt from the bushes and climbed the nearest tree. Rahne snapped at his tail as he climbed beyond her reach. Then Rahne changed back to human form, just as Amara raced towards her. Rahne pointed at Kurt, "That's the killer," she said, "Tabitha's scent is all over it, and its scent is all over her."

Kurt stared down at the girls, fear and sorrow written all over his face. He shook his head vehemently, and put his hands in the air in a submissive gesture. "No, listen, please," he said, "you've got it all wrong, I didn't kill her, I never killed anyone."

But it was no use, both Amara and Rahne were too full of grief and anger to listen to his words, and a moment later, Kurt found himself trying to avoid being burnt by the molten rocks and lava that were coming towards him from Amara's fingertips. Rahne turned back into a wolf and growled at him angrily, snapping her powerful jaw as she attempted to bite his tail. Sadly, Kurt shook his head and sighed, "You're not going to listen to me, are you?" he said quietly, sounding defeated. With that he vanished in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Notes: Firstly, sincere apologies for not updating earlier. Real life(tm) can be very distracting, when it involves working two jobs, studying for assignments including completing original stories, and being sick for a while. Inevitably I got behind on some things, and this unfortunately was one of them. I will try to update more regularly in the future. Anyway, as always, thanks for the reviews. ****sweetheart14879 – yes, poor Kurt, no one wants to listen to him, and he's therefore gradually becoming more and more frustrated. Lilac Rose6 (and Kurt) - I can appreciate why you are vexed that I so mercilessly killed Tabitha off – believe me, it was not because I hated the character (I tried to present her rather sympathetically) but her death is an important plot point within the story. Up until this point, the only information the X-Men have that Kurt has killed anyone has come from Porlock – clearly not the most reliable source of information. They required much more reliable (if admittedly incorrect) information that Kurt was a murderous demon, before they considered him their enemy – Tabitha's death gives them that information. It also helps to explain why the less evil/more sympathetic members of the Brotherhood (such as Toad) have not informed the X-Men of the Brotherhood's evil activities, since they are afraid that they will end up like Tabitha. They're cowardly, certainly, but it does make their actions seem more understandable and sympathetic this way. That said; I don't really like killing off characters if it can be avoided, but sometimes it is necessary for the story to work. I hope you understand my reasoning. Anyway, you've waited long enough for this chapter, so here it is;**

_**Kurt's Enemies **_

Kurt was quite literally climbing up the walls of the castle. "It's not fair!" he ranted, as he climbed up to the ceiling, and hung upside-down, glaring at his Little Nightcrawler doll accusingly. "It's not fair on me, and it's certainly not fair on poor Tabby. I never hurt anyone!" he dropped to the floor, and picked up the magic mirror. He stared at it sadly for a long moment, and then gave a huge sigh. "Show me Tabitha Smith's killer," he said quietly. There was a bright flash of light, and then the mirror showed him Pietro, who was explaining to the rest of the Brotherhood how Tabitha had deserved everything that had happened to her, how it was her own fault that he had to kill her, as she had intended to betray them and their plans. Some of the Brotherhood looked sceptical, but nearly all of them looked fearful. It was clear that they were scared that they would meet a similar fate as Tabitha, and were determined to do whatever was necessary in order to avoid that fate.

Kurt lowered the mirror in disgust. "Brotherhood of Protectors, my tail!" he practically growled, "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, more like. As if it wasn't bad enough that they planned to hunt down and steal from non-mutants, now they've gone so far as to kill one of their own. This is unforgivable." Kurt put down the mirror, and picked up his Little Nightcrawler doll, examining it thoughtfully for a long moment. "Still, I can't deny that this is partly my fault," he said softly, "if I had never become involved in all of this, Tabitha might still be alive. She was about the only one willing to listen to me, maybe even help me." He sighed, and then glared at the Little Nightcrawler doll for a moment, before throwing it across the room in frustration. It hit the opposite wall, and fell to the floor. Kurt shook his head sadly, walked over to the doll, and picked it up, then absently brushed the dust off of it. "No," he said thoughtfully, "that monster Quicksilver intended to hurt her, anyway, no matter what I did. He wanted to prevent her from talking to this Xavier character about what the Brotherhood were planning to do. It wasn't my fault, not this time," he sobbed quietly, "please, not this time." He sat down despondently upon the floor, staring at the Little Nightcrawler doll, a thoughtful look upon his face. Finally, he shook his head sadly. "No, I might not be the one who killed her, but I was still at least partly responsible for her death," he said softly. "Maybe if I hadn't teased the Brotherhood the way I did, maybe if I had handled things better, everything could have been different. But no, I had to go and annoy them, had to show off, had to end up making them my enemies." He stared at the Little Nightcrawler doll silently for a long moment, tears forming within his eyes. "I truly hate myself sometimes," he admitted quietly, as though confiding some deep, dark secret to the doll. He cried quietly for a few minutes, and then smiled sadly. "The last time I got like this, Mystique told me to stop wasting time feeling sorry for myself, that self-pity was a useless emotion, and she's right," he said with a sigh, "I can't change the past, I can't bring Tabitha back from the dead, but perhaps I can ensure that the Brotherhood never kills anybody, ever again." He made his way over to the magic mirror, and picked it up. He stared at it thoughtfully for a long moment, and then seemed to reach a decision. "Show me where the Brotherhood keep their weapons," he said. There was a flash of light, and then the mirror showed him a room filled with knives and swords, bows and arrows, and lots of different types of armour. Kurt nodded thoughtfully, and then winked at the Little Nightcrawler doll, "I think it's time that I paid a visit to this armoury, don't you agree?" he asked the doll, before vanishing in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke.

A moment later, he reappeared within the armoury, and proceeded to grab as many knives and swords as he could carry. After a few minutes, he resembled a rather large, metallic porcupine, as he was quite literally covered head to tail in weapons and armour. The door to the armoury suddenly burst open, just as Kurt was examining a rather dented steel helmet. Todd stared at him, blinking in surprise and no small amount of confusion, as Kurt tried desperately not to drop any weapons. "What the...?" Todd began, but was unable to finish his sentence. Kurt merely glared at him, and pointed a foil in his direction. "Take this message to the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants," he said dramatically, "a message from the Demon of Bayville. These weapons have killed their last. From this moment onwards, consider us enemies. Bye." He managed a rather awkward wave with the sword, and then vanished in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke. A moment later, he reappeared within the Castle of Death. All of his stolen weapons fell to the floor with a rather loud crashing sound, and Kurt nearly tripped over them as he made his way over to the Little Nightcrawler doll. He picked it up, grinned, and then leapt over to where he had left the weapons upon the floor. He grabbed one of the foils off of the floor, placed the Little Nightcrawler doll down upon a chair, and waved the sword at it in a theatrical manner. "Have at thee, thy mighty dread!" he said, swishing the air with the foil. "For all should fear the might of the great pirate Blue Tail, legend of the Seven Seas, Protector of the Innocent, and sworn enemy of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!" He swished the sword dramatically once more, as the Little Nightcrawler doll continued to stare up at him with unseeing yellow eyes. Finally, Kurt dropped the sword, stared at it sadly for a long moment, and then turned his attention back to the Little Nightcrawler doll. He picked the doll up, and shook his head sadly. "Who am I trying to fool?" he asked it quietly. "Those attack moves I just showed you with the foil, they're actually really simplistic, basic fencing moves. They might be able to impress others when I perform them upon the tightrope, but they're not much good for fighting anyone. I've never used them to hurt anyone, and I suspect that any member of the Brotherhood could defeat me in a fight." He stared at the doll quietly for a long moment. "So what am I supposed to do?" he asked it thoughtfully, "Challenge the Brotherhood to a fencing contest upon the high wire? Juggle swords to impress them upon a trapeze? They're not likely to agree to that, and even if they did, what good would it do?" He shook his head sadly. "No, I've got to think of something else." He put down the Little Nightcrawler doll upon the chair once more, and walked over to the magic mirror. He picked it up, and examined it thoughtfully. "Tabby said something about telling Xavier about what the Brotherhood were planning, and getting his help," Kurt said thoughtfully, "perhaps it's not too late to still get him on my side, if I can only get him to listen to me." He stared at the mirror for a long moment, and then asked it to show him Xavier.

The mirror flashed brilliantly, and then Kurt saw the wizard-professor Charles Xavier sitting at his desk, looking thoughtful and concerned. Wolverine stood behind him, looking rather sullen and worried. On the other side of the desk sat Porlock, Storm, Amara and Rahne. Amara was wrapped in Storm's gentle embrace, and it was clear that Amara had been crying. Xavier handed Rahne the portrait of Kurt, which she examined closely. Xavier then turned his attention to Porlock, and nodded towards him, "With the help of Mister Porlock here," he began, "we have been able to get an idea of what this demon might look like. Tell me, Ms Sinclair, does this picture resemble the demon that you witnessed earlier?"

Rahne examined the picture thoughtfully, and then nodded slowly. "Aye, that's the demon," she said quietly, "the hair might have been a bit longer, but that's definitely what the demon looked like."

"I guess there aren't many barber shops that specialise in cutting the hair of demons," Wolverine grunted quietly.

"Quite," said Xavier with a small sigh.

"I tolds you," said Porlock, "dids I not tells you before? That's what the demon looks like. Did I mention that it has glowy yellow eyes?"

"Yes, I believe you did," said Xavier patiently, and then turned his attention back to Rahne. "So what happened next?" he asked.

Rahne looked down, "It seemed so sad," she said. "Its scent was all over Tabitha, but I could also scent that the demon was sad and scared."

"Perfectly understandable," Storm said quietly, while absently stroking Amara's hair, "a wolf chasing after it would be enough for any creature to feel some fear, if the creature had any intelligence at all."

Xavier nodded his head thoughtfully, "So this creature is a murderer, and has at least a small degree of intellectual capacity," he said, "and therefore is not the sort of enemy that should be underestimated." He turned his attention to Amara, and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Any information that you can give to us concerning this creature could prove to be valuable," he told her sympathetically, "although if you do not feel ready to talk about this just yet, I will understand, and appreciate that you are still grieving over the death of your friend."

Amara hugged Storm, and shook her head as she sat up and wiped her eyes. "I knew Tabby," she said quietly. "She was friendly and playful. Why would anyone want to hurt her?"

"Well, I heard that he father is in jail," Wolverine grunted irritably, "so I guess that it's quite possible that the Smith family have made some enemies."

Xavier nodded thoughtfully. "Although I doubt that this demon would know or care about that," he said, "any information concerning Ms Smith and her family should be considered carefully before we dismiss its relevance altogether." He turned his attention back to Amara, "It could well be that this was simply a random attack," he said, "and that Ms Smith was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nevertheless, this does show that this demon is less discriminating than we initially imagined. Tragic though it was, when the demon was only attacking and killing circus folk, at least we knew where to concentrate our resources. Now it seems that potentially anyone could be a target for its attacks." He shook his head sadly, and gave Amara a small smile, "It might not do any good, but if you could provide me with a list of Ms Smith's close friends and family members, it might help our investigation."

Amara smiled through her tears, "Yes, I'll make a list of all of her friends. Anything to help," she said quietly.

Xavier nodded again. "Anything at all that you tell us could potentially lead to the demon's demise," he told her quietly, "even if you think that it is nothing but irrelevant detail."

Amara smiled at him, and looked like she was about to reply, when a furious Pietro suddenly burst through the door and raced up to where Xavier was watching him with some degree of confusion. Pietro sat on Xavier's desk, and glared at him, much to Wolverine's annoyance. Pietro ignored this and addressed Xavier, his tone furious, "That thing stole all of our weapons!" he practically yelled, "Somehow, it managed to get inside our locked armoury, stole our weapons, then vanished leaving nothing but a smell worse than Toad! How are we supposed to protect anyone when that stupid monster can just appear inside our house and steal our weapons?" he demanded.

"Calm yourself, please Pietro," said Xavier patiently, "and please, get off of my desk. We are currently trying to discuss what to do about this demon, and any information that you can give us that will help our investigation will be very much appreciated. Now, exactly what happened at the Brotherhood Boarding House?"

Pietro looked even more impatient than usual, but somehow managed to control his temper. "The demon somehow managed to appear within our locked armoury. It stole our weapons, then vanished as quickly as it had arrived. More importantly, what are you going to actually do about this?" he demanded.

"You will of course have access to all the weapons that you require in order to fulfil your duties," said Xavier quietly, "and that obviously goes for the rest of the Brotherhood of Protectors. We are currently trying to decide how to deal with this demon, and, as I told you before, any information that you can provide will be appreciated. You see, there has been another demon attack, and this time, it was one of our own."

"Who?" asked Pietro, feigning looking shocked and surprised.

Xavier let out a huge sigh. "Ms Tabitha Smith, also known as Boom-Boom. We have reason to believe that she was attacked and killed by this demon."

"Using your foil," said Rahne quietly, looking up at where Pietro purposefully kept his expression neutral, "at the time it seemed strange, and I could not be sure, but I could smell your sword on her wounds. If the demon stole your sword, then it could have easily used it to kill poor Tabitha. That would explain the smell," she said softly.

"Stupid demon had no right to steal my sword," said Pietro, then added as an afterthought, "or use it to kill anyone."

"Quite," said Xavier, "but all of the information I have received concerning this demon has led me to the same unfortunate conclusion. And that is that our enemy has at least near human intelligence, and can plan and reason. It is also appears to be indiscriminate concerning its victims," he put his head in his hands, "truly a potentially deadly foe, and a potential threat to anyone. But it is even worse than that," he turned his attention back to Rahne, "Ms Sinclair, you said that the demon seemed to vanish in a cloud of smoke. Are you sure that was what the demon actually did?"

Rahne looked down, and nodded ever so slightly. "Aye, I believe so Professor," she said.

"I am hoping that the demon's ability to materialise and vanish is nothing more than a mere trick," said Xavier, "that the creature is using nothing more than a rather sophisticated and clever version of the stink bombs that our own Doctor Hank McCoy uses within his science lessons, and that the demon is using these in order to mask its scent so that we cannot trace it or follow it. Are you sure, Ms Sinclair, that this is not the case?"

Rahne was silent for a long moment, as though carefully considering her reply. "I don't think so, Professor," she said at last, "even if it used some sort of stink bomb in order to mask its scent, the wolf within me should be able to detect some trace of its natural scent in the air, even if the wolf had trouble tracing the scent of the demon back to its lair. But it was as if its scent just suddenly vanished without a trace, as if it had simply gone back to its own dimension."

"And even if that wasn't the case," Wolverine said, pointing at Pietro, "that would not explain how it managed to get inside a locked armoury."

"So, we have an intelligent demon that is able to think and to plan, and can move instantly from place to place in order to conduct its murderous schemes," Xavier said thoughtfully, "truly a terrifying enemy indeed. Still, much as I trust your nose, Rahne, I would like to make absolutely sure that this demon can indeed appear and vanish instantaneously. Can you show Wolverine where you and Ms Aquilla found the body of poor Ms Smith, so that he can also scent for traces of this demon, and so that we can be certain that this demon is not merely using some form of stink bomb in order to disguise its scent? "

Rahne nodded, "I think so Professor," she said quietly.

Xavier smiled at her, "That is good, thank you, Ms Sinclair," he said. He sighed quietly, and turned his attention back to Pietro, "So this demon can appear within locked buildings," he said thoughtfully, "making it, as I have said, a truly dangerous enemy indeed. It might be a futile gesture, but I think it would be a wise precaution if I put a spell of protection from the demon upon the X-Men Mansion, the Brotherhood Boarding House, and the homes of Tabitha's friends and family, just in case this was not merely a random attack." He turned his attention to Storm, who was still comforting Amara, "If you could tell the students that this demon is very dangerous, potentially deadly, it would be appreciated," he said, "tell them to avoid contact with it if at all possible."

Storm nodded, "Agreed," she said.

"And for those of us who are tough enough to manage it, this thing should be attacked on sight, right Chuck?" asked Wolverine.

Xavier gave a tired sigh, "I am afraid to admit it, Logan, but I believe that you are correct," he said sadly. He turned his attention back to Rahne, "Ms Sinclair, if you could now lead Logan to the place where you found Ms Smith's body, it would be a great help in our investigation," he said.

"Aye Professor," said Rahne.

"What about my swords and knives and other weapons?" demanded Pietro, "does no one appreciate my loss here, my pain?"

Amara glared at him, and Xavier sighed again. "As I said before, more weapons will be given to you and to the rest of the Brotherhood," Xavier said patiently, "but there is little point in replenishing your stock of weapons if this demon can merely materialise within your armoury and steal them once more," there was a rare sharpness to Xavier's tone of voice, suggesting that he was getting very impatient with Pietro, "that is why I will perform a spell upon the Brotherhood Boarding House first, to ensure that the demon cannot materialise within its walls again."

Pietro smiled knowingly, and nodded.

Kurt stared at the mirror for a while longer, as Xavier accompanied Pietro back to the Brotherhood Boarding House, and Rahne led Wolverine to where she and Amara had found Tabitha's body. Kurt shook his head in frustration, "No!" he screamed at the mirror. "You've got everything wrong! Why will no one ever listen to me?" He looked down at the floor, and then growled, "No, they're going to have to listen to me, I have to make them listen, no matter what," he said, "no matter the danger, too many people have died trying to help me, to protect me, never again," he said determinedly, before vanishing in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Notes: As always, thanks for the reviews. I don't have a lawyer for poor Kurt, but he can at least show Kitty the truth using the magic mirror, so that's the next best thing. And you are right; I have to get back to Kitty before I finish tying up all of the plot threads of this part of the story. Now, without further ado, onto the next chapter;**

_Wounded Hero_

Kitty put down her mirror, and went over to the window. She looked down at where Kurt was busily picking tomatoes. Close by him, there were four huge bowls filled to the brim with fruit and vegetables, and a fifth bowl that was half full. Did Kurt really expect the two of them to eat that much? It was the size of a small feast, and Kitty doubted that she would be able to eat a fraction of it without feeling full. Of course, it could be that Kurt was merely putting off coming and talking to her again, after all, she had not been exactly polite to him before. Poor Kurt, everyone seemed to have misinterpreted his intentions, including the X-Men. She felt vaguely guilty about that. It was the same principle as when the people misinterpreted the intentions of mutants, thinking that they were all dangerous and evil. Of course, there were evil mutants who abused their powers, but the vast majority of mutants were fundamentally just normal people who happened to have some form of mutant power, and needed to get that power under control. Despite that, the people did have a reason to fear mutants, as there were mutants who could control the actions of others, and it did not matter if the mutant victim was the most moral and upright citizen there was, if that mutant could be controlled by another, there was a very real chance that the mutant's powers could be used for some pretty horrible crimes, particularly if the mutant had some form of destructive power that could be used to cause explosions or something similar. Then there were mutants that had more ambivalent powers, like her and Kurt. Powers that were not necessarily destructive, but which could potentially grant them access to all sorts of restricted areas, and therefore allow them to cause harm that way. Still, Kurt seemed to have had it far worse than her; at least her mutation was not obvious. Plus, Kurt had grown up with a troupe of travelling Romani circus folk, a group that were generally considered to be marginal by 'normal' civilization. Kitty remembered how, growing up, many people had warned her against going near any gypsies, had said that they were a group of cutthroats and thieves, and that they would steal her away in the middle of the night if she was not careful. Of course, there probably were amoral Romani travellers, but Kurt's troupe seemed like some of the nicest and most moral people Kitty could image. It seemed that people were so willing to judge those that they perceived as different that they hardly ever looked closer; to see how fundamentally similar they were, despite their different cultures and upbringings.

She smiled as Kurt began to pick cucumbers. "Captain Blue Tail," she said quietly, laughing behind her hand. Kurt turned around, looking suddenly puzzled. Kitty ducked out of view as he looked up at the window. It seemed that his ears were sharp in every sense of the word, and she suddenly found herself feeling unusually shy. Kurt shook his head in confusion, and then returned to his task. Kitty watched him thoughtfully. Captain Blue Tail, was that how he saw himself? Some sort of rebellious hero, who had no tolerance of rules or restrictions, but was nevertheless determined to do what was right? It was strange, looking at him, she could almost imagine him as some sort of heroic pirate, facing off against a corrupt government and freeing captive slaves with a swish of his sword and a witty retort to all comments. Yet he looked almost demonic; there was something vaguely ironic about someone who looked like that who longed to be a romantic hero, something rather appealing about a mutant who had endured so much, yet would not let his strife corrupt him. He could have so easily fallen into madness, but, aside from talking to himself to keep loneliness at bay; he seemed to be surprisingly sane and smart, even if stealing the Brotherhood's weapons had been rather stupid and short-sighted. Kurt could also so easily have become what everyone thought he was, a murderous demon, yet Kurt did not seem to have a cruel bone in his body. Even when he teased others, his actions had always been more playful than cruel. Kitty wondered if she would have been so moral and upright if she had been under the same pressure. She was not sure, and hoped that she would never have to find out.

She left the window, and picked up the magic mirror. It flashed for a moment, and then showed her Rahne, in wolf form, who was leading Wolverine into the forest. They finally stopped by the body of Tabitha. Wolverine growled, and picked Tabitha's body up, as Rahne turned back into human form. Wolverine looked down at Tabitha sadly. "We should inform her friends and family, those that don't know already," Wolverine said gruffly, "like that waste of space of a father of hers."

"Aye," Rahne nodded slowly, "I guess even he deserves to know the truth."

"Doubt he'd care much," Wolverine muttered angrily, "if Chuck is right, it seemed that he used Tabitha to line his own pockets, acted more like her criminal employer than a father."

"Still," Rahne said awkwardly, "he should be informed."

Wolverine nodded slowly, as he gently placed Tabitha back down on the ground. He found a short, blue hair on her head, and examined it closely. Rahne watched him cautiously. "You can smell it?" she asked.

Wolverine sniffed the hair, and then growled. "It seems like this came from our demon," he said gruffly, "its scent still lingers in the air, which means it cannot have been gone too long."

"Aye," Rahne agreed, "but the scent seems to just stop, as if the demon really did vanish into thin air. At least, that's what the wolf in me thought."

Wolverine sniffed all around, wrinkling his nose, and then frowning in frustration. "Looks like you were right all along," he said, "seems as if the demon can vanish without a trace. Wonderful," he said sarcastically, "that would make the thing almost impossible to track, even with our mutant abilities."

Bamf! Kurt suddenly appeared in a flash of yellow light and a cloud of purple smoke, in a tree a couple of feet above them. "No need to track me," he grinned at them, and then vaulted down from the tree, "I'm right here!"

Wolverine growled and unsheathed the claws from within his hands, then raced towards Kurt.

Bamf! Kurt vanished in another flash of yellow light and cloud of purple smoke, and a moment later reappeared behind Rahne. She growled at him, and turned into wolf form once more, but Kurt merely put his hands up in a submissive gesture. "Just listen to me, please," he said, as Wolverine turned around and ran towards him again, "I only want to talk, I don't want to fight."

"You've got a nerve showing your face around here after what you did to Tabitha," Wolverine growled, and slashed at him with the claws in his hands. Kurt teleported up to one of the lower branches of a nearby tree, and shook his head sadly. "I didn't do anything to Tabitha," he said, "only talked to her. That's all I want to do now. Talk. Without being attacked."

"You can talk to your master when I send you back to whatever dimension you came from, demon," Wolverine growled, and slashed angrily at the tree.

Kurt teleported before Wolverine was able to shake him from his vantage point. "Fun though this is," said Kurt, "sooner or later I'm going to get you to listen to me. I'd prefer it to be sooner, as that way there's less chance of anyone getting hurt."

Wolverine merely growled, then leapt down on Kurt, slashing him in the side, just a moment before he teleported. Kurt reappeared a few feet away, biting back a scream of pain as blood started to pool from the hole Wolverine had made in his side. Kurt placed his hands over his bleeding wound, and looked up at Wolverine, giving him a rather sad smile. "I really hoped that this meeting could have gone better than this," he said, before vanishing in a flash of yellow light and a cloud of sulphurous, purple smoke.

Kurt reappeared within the Castle of Death, and examined his wound, worry in his yellow eyes. He found an old blanket, and tore off a few strips of cloth. He made a reasonable bandage out of the cloths, which he used to help to stop the bleeding from his wound. Then he sat down on one of his chairs, and placed his head in his hands. "Why will no one listen?" he sobbed. He put his hands to his side, and found that his wound was still bleeding. He gave a sigh, and put another bandage against the bleeding wound. "Of course they won't listen to me," he said sadly, sounding dejected and defeated, "I look like a demon. The Brotherhood of Protectors are supposed to be in charge of protecting the people from things like me, of course they're more likely to believe them than me." He sighed again, and picked up his Little Nightcrawler doll. "I wish Margali was here," he told it quietly, "she could fix this whole mess in a moment. Or Jimaine, she could heal this wound easily enough with a simple magic spell. As it is, all I can do is use the magic she taught me to help the healing process along." Kurt placed his left hand over the wound, and closed his eyes. His hand became a very pale yellow colour, as healing magic passed from his hand to his wound, stopping the bleeding and helping the wound to heal. Kurt smiled sadly as he looked down at his side, and then went over to his magic mirror, picked it up, and then climbed into bed. For a long moment, he stared up at the ceiling, as though deep in thought. "Thank goodness Jimaine taught me that healing spell," he said, although he sounded rather worn out from using even a small amount of magical energy, "at least now I know that I will survive." He looked at his Little Nightcrawler doll, and hugged it gently, smiling down at it. "I guess the best thing I can do right now is get some rest and relaxation, so that I can finish healing naturally." He rubbed his side, and then bit his lips in pain and frustration. "But what about everyone else?" he said thoughtfully. "What's to stop the Brotherhood from hunting down and killing people while I cannot stop them? Then they'll blame me again, and the X-Men will continue to try to hunt me down." Kurt sighed, and looked at the Little Nightcrawler doll for a long moment, before he shook his head. "No, I can't do anything to help anyone, not right now, not like this. I've just got to be patient so that I can heal naturally, however frustrating waiting might be." He examined his magic mirror wistfully. "I wish Margali was here," he said quietly, "show me Margali Szardos, mother of Jimaine and Stefan and..." his voice trailed off, as he stared sadly at the mirror. He shook his head again and sighed sadly, "Show me Margali Szardoz, mother of Stefan and Jimaine," he said.

The mirror flashed, revealing a small, white room. It had that comfortable but impersonal look that hospital rooms around the world seemed to have, and Margali was sitting upon a wooden chair, by the bed of an elderly man, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Although the sleeping figure appeared to be pale and frail, when Kitty looked at him closely, she could see that he had obviously once been as handsome and charming as Stefan, who he resembled. Margali stroked his pale hands every couple of minutes or so, and it looked as if she had been crying. Margali herself seemed to have a few more wrinkles and grey hairs than she had had before she left the Szardoz Circus, but still seemed to be an unusually strong and determined woman. Kurt put down his mirror, and smiled to himself. "Well, at least now I know that Margali was not tricked, that her ex-husband really is sick, so at least she left us for a good reason," he said quietly, "I've been worried for so long that Morttoten had set up some sort of trick and trap to get her away from us all, so that he could attack the circus and me. It seems that I gave him too much credit. I should have known that Margali was much too smart to fall for a trick like that. Still, Morttoten could have had all sorts of spies working for him, finding out about Margali and me. I could easily have shook their hands, or signed their autographs for all I know." He sighed, and shook his head sadly, "But how could that have been avoided, anyway? When you get right down to it, a circus is a small business, just like any other small business. It can't just turn people away just because they might be dangerous; to do so might prevent the circus from making enough money to survive." He sighed again, and looked down at his side in frustration. "Hurry up and heal!" he ordered it impatiently, and then turned his attention back to the mirror. "I miss Margali so much," he said wistfully, "and I think I'm slowly going crazy with loneliness, why else would I be talking to myself the whole time?" He gave a sad little laugh, and turned his attention back to his Little Nightcrawler doll, "If only I could get word to Margali somehow, she'd know what to do for the best." He was quiet for a long moment, and then shook his head sadly, "No, I can't do that. She's got enough to worry about right now as it is, I don't want to put more pressure on her when she's already going through so much. Besides, she's too far away, far beyond teleporting range, and anyway," he closed his eyes sadly for a moment, "how could I look her in the eye, and tell her that everything and everyone she ever loved is dead because of me? She'd hate me then, and with good reason," he shuddered, clutching his side, and wincing in pain, "I think I could cope with just about anything else, except her hate."

For a long moment, Kurt was still and silent, so Kitty thought he might have drifted off to sleep. Kurt, however, interrupted the silence by growling in frustration. "So what to do?" he asked, no small amount of irritation in his tone of voice. "The X-Men would make great allies, except that they think that I'm a murderous demon, and want me dead. Trying to get them to see my point of view did not exactly go well. The Brotherhood will continue with their murderous plans, and right now, I'm in no position to stop them. So what do I do for the best?" He frowned, and stared at the mirror for a long moment. "I wonder if Mystique would be willing to help me," he said thoughtfully, "if she's right and I am her son, then maybe..." his voice trailed off, and he shook his head, as if to clear it. "No, that's a stupid idea; Mystique is far too much of a wild card to be trusted. She might help me, or she might refuse to help me, or she might make things even worse. Besides, how would I locate her? She could be anywhere, or anyone, even an animal. So I guess there's no one left who might be able to help me right now." Kurt sighed and shook his head again.

"Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way," he said after a long pause, "I can't actually do anything to help right now, but I can watch everyone from a distance, learn their plans, gain an advantage that way. Perhaps that's the best course of action, watch, listen and learn, so that as soon as I feel well enough, I can plan my own actions accordingly." He smiled to himself, "After all, this wizard-professor Xavier seems to think I'm quite intelligent, so I shouldn't disappoint him. I'll prove myself, I'll show everyone that I can be smart," he winced in pain, and examined his side, "tomorrow," he said, yawning slightly, "right now, I think the best thing to do is sleep, so that this stupid wound can heal." With that, he drifted off to sleep, as Kitty's mirror went dark once more.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Notes: Again, thank you for all the reviews, it means a great deal to me to know that there are people who are enjoying reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it. ****Dragoncat – I can understand why you would want me to give the mirror a rest, but I only have a couple of chapters left until I finish Part 2, (I am hoping to finish this section by Easter, if real life does not offer too many annoying distractions) then I can take a break from the action/drama and torturing poor Kurt, to instead concentrate on humour and romance for a bit, so taking a break from the mirror would not be the most appropriate thing to do at this particular point in the story. Don't worry about the mirror – its magic, and a lot tougher than Kurt realises, so will not break that easily. Sweetheart14879 – at the moment I don't intend to focus on Kitty again, because I've nearly finished this section, as I've stated above. I just need to pull all/most of the plot threads together before moving on to Part 3, which will concentrate on the interaction between Kurt and Kitty, and their developing friendship. Now, on to the next chapter;**

_Much Ado About Something_

Kurt watched as Wolverine reported back to Xavier. "How do you fight something that can vanish into smoke?" Xavier asked thoughtfully, staring at a recent report.

"That a riddle, Chuck?" asked Wolverine.

Xavier sighed, and turned his attention back to Wolverine. "It certainly is a conundrum, my friend. If you have any suggestions, I would be more than willing to listen to them."

Wolverine looked at Xavier thoughtfully. "The same way you fight something that can't vanish into smoke," he told him with a wry smile.

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Could you elaborate, please?" he asked sceptically.

Wolverine grinned menacingly. "Find its weakness," he said, "and exploit it. The creature has to have one."

"I'm not so certain that it does," Xavier replied, shaking his head sadly. "I've put a spell upon the X-Men Mansion, the Brotherhood Boarding House, and the homes of Tabitha's close friends and family, so if it tries to enter one of those places, it will simply burst into flames, but until it tries to do that, there's not much else I can do to hunt the creature down. The demon is athletic, intelligent, and can move instantaneously from place to place, making tracking it all but impossible. This demon certainly does seem to have a lot of advantages."

"Perhaps," Wolverine said grudgingly, "but I have something to show you that might give you hope." He handed Xavier the single blue hair that he had found earlier upon Tabitha. He folded his arms in a satisfied manner, and pointed to the hair, "That comes from the demon," he explained, "and you know what that means."

Xavier examined the hair thoughtfully for a long moment before replying. "It means that the demon needs to take corporeal form," he said, "some of the time, at least."

"Exactly," replied Wolverine. "And anything that takes physical form is potentially vulnerable when in that form. Plus, I know for a fact that the creature can bleed. If it can bleed, that means it can be killed."

"You injured the demon?" Xavier asked. "Do you think that it has some form of healing factor, perhaps a power similar to your own?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Wolverine said gruffly, "things got just about every other advantage going for it. Plus, the reports of the killings keep coming in, so it looks like the demon has not been permanently stopped."

Xavier nodded, and Kurt stared at the mirror sceptically. "What killings?" he asked it worriedly. "What have the Brotherhood been doing while I've been in bed trying to heal this stupid wound? Show me what Xavier is referring to, please."

The mirror flashed for a moment, and then Kurt saw the Brotherhood attack and kill a luckless victim, who had been travelling in the woods not far from the Castle of Death. The Brotherhood stole his money, and were about to leave, when Pietro said that he wanted to show them something. Pietro removed a small, blue orb from his pocket, and placed it upon the body of their victim. The rest of the Brotherhood looked at each other nervously as they waited for a moment to see what would happen. After a short, awkward pause, there was the sound of running and howling, and many of the members of the Brotherhood yelped in surprise and fear when they saw a pack of about twelve wolves come running towards them. These wolves seemed to be larger and more vicious than the normal wolves that dwelt within the forest, and more intelligent. The wolves snapped and snarled at all of the Brotherhood members except for Pietro, then turned their attention to the body of the unfortunate traveller. Within a moment, they proceeded to rip the body to pieces. The blue orb seemed to explode over them, coating their fur in a dye almost the exact same shade as Kurt's fur. Many of the Brotherhood looked uneasy about what they had witnessed, and Todd was physically sick. Pietro, however, did not seem to notice, as he stared proudly at the vicious wolves. "These wolves were enhanced by my father, many years ago," he explained, "as were their parents and grandparents. They're bigger, smarter and much more vicious than normal wolves, and they live longer. They're better in every way, and will attack without provocation or threat. Only my family is able to control them using these powerful magic globes, which have the rather fortunate added bonus that they cover the wolves in a rather attractive blue dye, the same shade as our dear Demon of Bayville. I'll get back at that creature for stealing all of our weapons if it's the last thing I do!" He began to laugh manically, grinning evilly as the wolves slowly finished their grizzly meal.

Todd backed away from him nervously, as another member of the Brotherhood slowly inched towards him, and asked him how he was feeling.

"Like my internal organs don't want to be internal anymore," Todd replied quietly, "Quicksilver's gone crazier than Porlock!"

His companion nodded thoughtfully. "Except that Porlock is nothing more than a harmless crazy old tramp," he whispered urgently, "Quicksilver's both insane and dangerous. We should leave the Brotherhood as soon as we can."

Todd shook his head violently, his eyes large and terrified. "Are you crazy?" he demanded. "He'd just hunt us down and kill us; you know what happened to poor Tabby. Besides, it's best that we can keep him close, so that we can see what insane scheme he's planning next."

"I hear whispering," said Pietro, coming up behind them, making Todd leap nearly a foot in the air in fright. Pietro grinned menacingly at them, his eyes eerie and insane. "You had better not be planning anything stupid," he told them, and though he kept his tone light and playful, there was a definite threat within his tone of voice.

Todd shook in fear, and swallowed nervously. "Me?" he asked, his voice quiet and raspy, "No, of course not." He shook his head violently, and even managed a terrified smile as he indicated his companion and himself, "We were just discussing Porlock, saying what a crazy old loon he was."

Pietro grinned, and pulled Todd close to him. He whispered in his ear, "Crazy old loons make great victims. People don't generally care what happens to them, and half the time they don't believe what they say, anyway." He grinned, and then turned away from Todd, noticing a coach slowly making its way towards them. He smiled manically, and turned his attention back to the rest of the Brotherhood. "And talking of victims," he said, rubbing his hands together in glee, "I think I see victim number two approaching us right now." He reached inside his pocket and removed a second glowing orb. The rest of the Brotherhood looked at each other worriedly as Pietro confidently advanced towards the unwary traveller.

Kurt shook his head, and glared at the mirror angrily. "No, I'll not let them do this, never again," he said determinedly, "too many people have died because of me, I can't let anyone else die, never again." Without another word, he teleported close to where the Brotherhood were starting to surround the unwary traveller. All of the Brotherhood seemed to be wielding some form of weapon, and they were slowly but surely advancing towards their intended target. Kurt grinned, and teleported right on top of Pietro, knocking him to the ground before he had a chance to attack. "Nice of you to break my fall," Kurt told him conversationally, before teleporting into the coach, right in front of the terrified traveller. "Are you hurt?" Kurt asked him worriedly, clutching his own side suddenly, as though the question had reminded him of his own wound.

The traveller merely shook his head, and stared at Kurt in wide-eyed fear. "You," he said, pointing a shaking finger towards him, "you're a..." his voice trailed off as he continued staring at Kurt in fear.

Kurt tried to smile reassuringly, while carefully avoiding showing his fangs. "A friend," he said calmly, "my name is Kurt. I'm the youngest child of Margali the Sorceress, of the Szardos Circus. I was named after one of the clowns." He bowed playfully, but his companion continued to stare at him in fear.

"You mean that there are more creatures like you around?" he asked fearfully.

For a moment, Kurt looked mortified at the comment, but he quickly hid his feelings behind a shy smile. "I'm here to help," he said quietly, "my mother and sister were both gifted in the art of magic, and my sister taught me some basic healing spells. If you are hurt, I might be able to heal your wounds."

"I'm not hurt," the traveller said, watching Kurt uncertainly.

Kurt nodded, "Good," he said, "then take my hand. I can get you to a place of safety."

The stranger stared at him for a long moment, as though uncertain. Kurt took a step towards him, keeping his hand outstretched, carefully ensuring that he made no gesture that could be misinterpreted as threatening. Just as his companion seemed to have decided to trust Kurt, the ground below them shook, and the coach toppled onto its side, due to Lance activating his mutant power. Kurt jumped out of the way just as a rather large travelling trunk fell down from a shelf, and unfortunately hit his companion on the head. Kurt quickly climbed over to him, and cautiously removed the trunk. Kurt worriedly examined the rather colourful bump upon his companion's head, but was relieved to discover that he was merely concussed rather than seriously injured. Kurt sighed in relief, grabbed hold of the unconscious traveller, and then vanished with him in a flash of yellow light and a cloud of purple smoke, mere moments before the Brotherhood entered the coach, only to be confused and rather angry when they discovered that it was empty.

A moment later, Kurt reappeared with his unconscious companion, upon the steps of Bayville General Hospital. He placed the traveller down gently, and rang the bell of the hospital. He vanished a moment later, as a couple of rather confused hospital workers noticed the unconscious man lying upon the hospital steps. They carried him inside the hospital, where he could receive whatever treatment he might require.

Back at the Castle of Death, Kurt grinned happily. "And so the mighty Captain Blue Tail defeated the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!" he said enthusiastically, unsheathing a sword and swishing it dramatically in the air. "He vanquished all of his foes, defeated his enemies and saved an innocent traveller from an untimely demise!" He sat down on his bed, and then felt his side, wincing in pain as his wound began to bleed once more. He looked down at it, and sighed. "Heroics always seem to be so much less painful in the old stories," he muttered irritably, "Pirate Captain Carlos Mendoza never had to deal with wounds like this when defeating the skeleton pirates and trying to return to Spain with pirate treasure." He began using some healing magic in order to stop the bleeding, examining the wound carefully. "I guess teleporting so much did not exactly help the healing process," he muttered thoughtfully, "especially with a passenger. No matter," he yawned, clearly tired out from expending so much magical energy, "I think I've earned a rest." He grinned; lay down on his bed, and a moment later drifted into a peaceful slumber, as Kitty's mirror went dark once more.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's notes: Firstly, sincere thanks to all ****of those who have reviewed, it means a great deal to me to know that there are people who are reading and enjoying this story. Special thanks in particular to Nighthawk21, who informed me that a group of gypsies is called a caravan (I know that they prefer to be called Romani, as I learnt that while spending a great deal of time on **_**TV Tropes**_**, a really addictive website, but I didn't know what the collective term was, so that information is valuable). Hopefully any inaccuracies in my representation of Romani culture can be excused due to a combination of artistic licence and the AU setting, but I still want to be as accurate as possible, as long as it allows the story to work. Also, I don't mind suggestions or constructive criticism, these will always be considered, even if they are not incorporated into the story. As long as you care what happens to the characters and are curious to find out what happens next, I will be a happy writer, it's only when readers claim that they don't care about the characters that writers should really worry about the quality of what they are writing. So far, the vast majority of my reviews have been very positive, and I am very grateful that you have taken the time and patience to give me such amazing feedback, thank you again. Finally, happy Easter (or regional/cultural holiday that you celebrate in your part of the world) and here's the last chapter of Part 2 as an Easter present; enjoy!**

_To help and protect those that hate and fear us_

Kitty asked the mirror to show her more about Kurt's past. A moment later, the mirror flashed, revealing Kurt laying on his bed, grinning happily to himself, as he picked up the magic mirror and asked it to show him the man that he had saved the day before. His grin turned to a frown, however, when he saw that Storm and Pietro were by the man's bedside, listening to his tale. "I will understand if you don't feel up to talking just yet, Mr Lacroix," said Storm sympathetically, "after your harrowing attack yesterday, it would be perfectly understandable if you needed some time to recover before you were able to discuss your ordeal with anyone."

Mr Lacroix shook his head, and smiled at Storm. "No, it's quite fine, my dear," he said, and gave her a wink, "far be it from me to refuse the opportunity to help such a beautiful young lady."

Storm smiled at him, and gave a little laugh. "Flatterer," she said playfully, "but I really do need you to be serious if you are going to help us with our investigation."

Mr Lacroix shrugged, and grinned impishly. "Sorry my dear, I could not resist trying to charm one so beautiful," he said, "I'll try to help you all I can, but everything that happened to me yesterday is still a bit of a blur, and not really clear at all."

Storm nodded, and smiled at Mr Lacroix in an understanding way. "You were suffering from mild concussion," she said, pointing to the bump on his head, "from being hit on the head by a blunt object, according to your doctor's report. Still, I believe that you were lucky to have only received minor injuries. The last person who was attacked by this demon was killed and eaten."

Mr Lacroix suddenly became very pale. "I did not know that," he admitted. "Like I said before, my memory is sort of jumbled. I was travelling towards the town when I was attacked."

"By the demon, right?" interrupted Pietro.

Mr Lacroix scratched his head, and looked uncertain. "Yes, I guess so," he said cautiously, "although I don't really remember any details," he admitted.

"Did you get a good look at the demon?" asked Storm.

Mr Lacroix nodded, and smiled at Storm once more. "Yes, at least I remember that much," he said, sounding relieved, "the demon suddenly materialized inside my coach. There was a horrible smell, and some smoke, and then there was this strange creature in front of me. It looked almost human, except that it was blue and had a tail. It also seemed to be covered in fur."

"Did it look anything like this?" asked Storm, handing him the portrait of Kurt.

Mr Lacroix nodded enthusiastically, and pointed to the picture. "Yes, it looked just like that, at least, as far as I can remember it did." He reached up and scratched the bump on his head uncertainly.

Storm watched him, concern in her eyes. "As I said before, if you don't feel up to talking just yet, I will understand," she said gently.

"And allow another person to suffer and perhaps die while I am busy recovering?" Mr Lacroix asked with a wry smile. "No, I couldn't in good conscious do that. I'm just not sure that any information that I give to you will be of any use."

Storm nodded, and smiled reassuringly at him. "I will take that into consideration," she said, "but the simple fact remains that this demon has killed, and any information you can give to us could potentially prevent it from killing again."

"So what happened after this demon attacked you?" Pietro asked.

Mr Lacroix again scratched his head uncertainly. "As I said before, there was a rather foul smell. Then the demon reached towards me. It had strange, misshapen hands." He frowned, as though he was having difficulty remembering any details. "It said something about a circus, I think," he said.

"It was responsible for burning down a gypsy circus," Pietro interrupted, "could it have been saying something about that?"

Mr Lacroix looked at him apologetically. "I'm really sorry," he said, "but my memory concerning what happened is not nearly as clear as I would like it to be. It could have said something like that, but I don't remember. I think it said a strange word, Szardos, or something similar. Sorry I can't be more help."

"We have reason to believe that this demon burnt down the Szardos Circus," said Storm solemnly, "do you think that the demon could have been referring to that?"

Mr Lacroix nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps," he agreed uncertainly, "then it mentioned something about its family, a mother and sister, I believe."

"There's more than one demon?" Storm asked, sounding worried, and more than a little shocked upon hearing this news.

Mr Lacroix gave her an apologetic look. "I'm really not sure," he admitted uncertainly, "like I said before, my memory is rather unclear, and could be muddled."

"It would explain a lot if there are several demons," Storm muttered thoughtfully to herself. She shook her head ever so slightly, and turned her attention back to Mr Lacroix. "Is there anything else that you can remember?" she asked. "Anything at all?"

Mr Lacroix frowned uncertainly, as though he was still having trouble remembering any details. "I think it wanted to take me somewhere," he said after a rather long pause, "but I'm not sure where. The next thing that I remember, the ground was shaking and the coach I was riding in toppled over. I guess that's when the demon must have hit me on the head."

"That's when we arrived," explained Pietro, "you were lucky that the Brotherhood of Protectors were in the area at that time. We had been investigating another one of the demon's recent murders when we saw it attack you. You are lucky to be alive. If we had not arrived when we did, things could have gone very differently."

Mr Lacroix sighed, and leaned back on his bed. "It's all very fuzzy," he admitted, "my memory, I mean. But I do remember seeing you and your companions." He gave a little laugh. "Who would imagine that a little bump on the head could cause such memory problems?" he asked.

"It's understandable, and perfectly normal," Storm assured him, "is there anything else that you can remember?"

After a short pause, he shook his head, and smiled at Storm apologetically. "I guess the demon must have knocked me unconscious, and then the Brotherhood of Protectors must have saved me from it a moment later, but I don't remember anything very clearly. I'm sorry I can't be more help," he said.

Storm nodded, and shook his hand reassuringly. "It is understandable," she said, "any information you are able to give us might prove to be valuable, but I understand that you were suffering from concussion, and so your memory is understandably rather hazy. We will leave you now so that you can get some rest." She smiled at him sympathetically. "If you remember anything at all at a later date, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Protectors would be glad to hear any new information, even if you think it is nothing but irrelevant detail."

Mr Lacroix nodded and waved goodbye to Storm and Pietro as they left him, allowing him to get some rest.

Kurt stared at the mirror for a long moment, and then shook his head in disbelief. "That's not what happened at all!" he yelled at the mirror. "I never hurt him; I never even tried to harm him. I saved him. Me! Not the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, me! I'm the hero; they're the villains, why won't anyone understand that?" He gave a frustrated growl, but calmed down a moment later, as he stared at the mirror sadly. "No, it doesn't matter," he said quietly, "he's not an evil man, just confused because of being knocked unconscious. I'm glad I saved him. It would have been better if he could provide evidence of my innocence, but that's not what's really important." He smiled sadly, and put the mirror down. "I've had my time being adored by the public, performing before awed crowds. I'm not doing this for the glory, but because it's the right thing to do." He gave a sad little laugh. "I just wish people would stop trying to kill me, that's all!"

Kitty watched with something akin to pride as the mirror showed her Kurt over the next few weeks, as he saved dozens of innocent travellers from the being killed by the Brotherhood. Kurt watched the Brotherhood using his magic mirror, to see what they were planning, and then thwarted their plans by rescuing their intended victim, in much the same way that he had rescued Mr Lacroix. Kurt's method was fundamentally quite simple, as he would wait for an opportune moment, then teleport close to the Brotherhood and their intended victim. He would then teleport this intended victim to a place of safety, usually the nearest hospital. The only problem with this method was that teleporting passengers tended to leave them unconscious or confused and disorientated. This meant that they had the rather unfortunate habit of misremembering what actually happened. With a little prompting from the Brotherhood, they soon misremembered Kurt as the villain who had attacked them, and assumed that the Brotherhood had come to their rescue. So the legend of the Demon of Bayville continued and developed, with Kurt being depicted as an evil murderous demon, even though this could not have been further from the truth.

Kurt himself watched with some disappointment every time he was blamed for an attack, but eventually decided that it did not matter what people thought about him. He would do what he knew was right, even if it killed him, regardless of the legends he was inspiring throughout the town.

Although Kurt nearly always mourned whenever he failed to save one of the Brotherhood's intended victims, there was one single exception. In this instance, Kurt watched, his face emotionless, as the Brotherhood approached a lone traveller in a rather elegant coach as he travelled on a dirt trail not too far from the town. Kitty was initially surprised when Kurt did not attempt to save him, but soon realised that there was a good reason why Kurt did not go to his rescue, because it was the wizard Morttoten.

"Out of the way infidels," Morttoten yelled at the Brotherhood as they approached him, "don't you know who I am?"

"No, neither do we care," said Lance menacingly. "Get out of the coach and leave all of your valuables within it, and we'll allow you to escape with your life."

Morttoten looked down at him, as if he was some sort of bug. "You are a disgusting little infidel," he told him pompously, "I'll have you know that I am that great and powerful wizard Morttoten, and I am currently on a very urgent mission. Do you know what my mission is?" he asked.

"No," Pietro responded, "why don't you tell us, pretend we care."

"I will have you know, you obnoxious little worm, that I am currently hunting down the Demon of Bayville," he said dramatically, "an evil creature that I have been tracking for months now."

The Brotherhood looked at each other uncertainly, and then turned their attention back to Morttoten. For the first time, they appeared to be interested in what he was saying to them. Morttoten smiled in a self-righteous manner. "Yes, that's right," he said, "I tried to destroy the creature months ago, I even had to burn down a circus in order to attain my noble goal. But it seems that this evil demon was able to survive even that. No matter, I will not fail this time; I will not rest until I see the demon's lifeless body. Now, out of my way, you pathetic excuses for highway robbers, I will have no more distractions. I need to complete my noble task."

A moment later, Pietro slit Morttoten's throat. Pietro grinned at his dead body, and pointed towards it with his sword. "You know, that man was really, really annoying," he said, "and we're not going to let anyone kill this Demon of Bayville any time soon. It's much too useful a scapegoat, and as long as people see it scavenging around, the legend of the Demon of Bayville will only grow, which means that no one will suspect us. So we're going to do everything in our power to keep it alive." He placed a small, blue orb upon Morttoten's body, and watched as, a few moments later, a pack of rather large wolves came and gradually devoured their grisly meal.

Kurt put down the mirror, and frowned thoughtfully. "So the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants want to protect me, do they?" he muttered quietly to himself. "My enemies are actually trying to keep me alive," he said thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Well, I also want to stay alive, so we want the same thing, at least, in that one respect." He walked over to the window of the castle, and looked down at his garden, where the trees were swaying in the slight breeze. "There's the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, who are my enemies," he said after a long pause, "I try to stop their plans, and they try to stop me. Yet they actually want to keep me alive. Then there's the X-Men, who would make great allies if only they'd listen to me. They don't want to kill people, and they want to stop all of these murders, yet they want me dead." He gave a mirthless little laugh. "The concept of enemy and friend is far more complicated here than it ever was in the old stories; I wonder how Pirate Captain Carlos Mendoza would deal with a problem like this." He sighed quietly, and walked over to the magic mirror, picked it up, and stared at it for a long moment. "Show me the X-Men," he said after a long pause.

The mirror flashed, and revealed Xavier examining reports within his office. Wolverine was sitting opposite him, his arms folded, and a sceptical expression upon his sullen face. "Any luck, Chuck?" Wolverine asked him.

"Unfortunately very little, my friend," Xavier replied, "I have been trying to see what the victims of the demon have in common, any details that might allow us to predict who it might attack next."

"And?" Wolverine asked impatiently.

Xavier sighed, and gave him a sad look. "With the possible exception of Ms Smith and the people it killed from the circus, all of its victims could be regarded as easy targets. It usually attacks lone victims, in deserted places, but never too far from civilisation. The victims have come from many different backgrounds, but few of them would have been powerful enough to defend themselves, with the possible exception of Ms Smith and the circus, that is."

"Travelling circus folk are always a rather marginal group, so perhaps the demon thought that they would make excellent potential victims," Wolverine said gruffly, "and it could be that the demon didn't know that Tabitha was a mutant. Maybe it thought that she was merely a blonde girl travelling alone in the woods, and so thought that she would be vulnerable, and therefore make an excellent victim." Wolverine stroked his chin thoughtfully. "In that case, it seems that this demon cannot automatically tell when one of its potential victims is a mutant, which might just be the weakness that we can exploit."

Xavier looked at him sceptically. "Could you explain, please?" he asked.

"I have a plan, Chuck," Wolverine said seriously. "You won't like it, but at least listen before disagreeing with me."

Xavier folded his arms and smiled at him reassuringly. "You know that I am always willing to listen to your plans, my friend," he said, "even if I might not necessarily agree with them."

"Ms Pryde," Wolverine said, "one of our most recent members. I believe that she might be able to help us to stop this demon."

Xavier frowned uncertainly. "Please explain," he said.

"We know that the demon's a coward," Wolverine said, "and we know that it attacks victims that it thinks cannot defend themselves very well. It also seems that it can't tell whether or not a potential victim is a mutant. So we use Ms Pryde as bait. The demon would not likely be able to resist a small, young woman, travelling alone at night, completely vulnerable," he grinned menacingly, "a perfect victim."

Xavier looked at him seriously. "You are right, I don't like this. Ms Pryde has not been a member of the X-Men for very long, she is not nearly experienced enough to fight an enemy of this magnitude."

"Only one cure for inexperience, Chuck," Wolverine replied, "experience, and most of that experience can't be gained from books or even training exercises, but has to come from real life." When Xavier looked at him sceptically, he sighed and shook his head sadly. "Look, I don't like endangering her either, but we have to stop this thing somehow, and she might be our best option right now. She may be young and inexperienced, but she is also smart and able to use her initiative. She knows when risks are worth taking and when they are not. She's very mature for her age, and besides, if the worst comes to the worst, she can always phase through the demon or any other danger it might throw at her."

Xavier was silent for a long moment, as though lost in thought. Finally, he put his head in his hands, and sighed in defeat. "You have clearly thought about this a great deal, my friend," he said at last, "and I cannot deny that there is a certain amount of logic in what you are saying. Nevertheless, I still don't like the idea of putting one of my students in danger of this magnitude."

"Chuck, as long as this demon's alive, everyone's in danger, not just Ms Pryde," Wolverine said seriously.

Xavier sighed again, and gave Wolverine a sad smile. "Very well, Logan," he said after a long pause, "I will talk with Ms Pryde about this demon, and see if she is willing to go along with your plan. Although I hate to admit it, I do not currently have a better plan, and you are right, this demon must be stopped somehow," he looked down sadly, "no matter what the cost might be."


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Notes: Again, thank you all for your wonderful reviews. Pointyearsrule – Thanks for pointing out the continuity error. I guess that's what happens when you update at midnight, it's (hopefully) been fixed now. I'm actually very impressed (and I have to admit, a little worried) that there are people reading this carefully and conscientiously enough to notice things like that. Thanks again. Talk-ape – thanks, you don't have to wait any longer, and I just hope that it lives up to your expectations. By the way, 'cannae'? are you Scottish? ****Lilac Rose6 – (Laughs) her Kurt? That was not intentional, but I guess if you look hard enough, you can find subtext for just about anything (as many of the fanfictions on this very site have demonstrated). ****Sweetheart14879 – hopefully these Author's Notes (at the start of Chapter 8) will help to clarify things – ****this story is happening in a sort of mediaeval/fantasy setting, but one that also has some more modern elements that would not have been there during our Middle Ages. In the **_**Excalibur**_** comics, Kitty, Kurt and their companions visit a universe which has many mythological elements, such as magic and dragons, but which also has many modern elements as well. This is that sort of Alternative Universe, one where both magic and mutants are a (grudgingly) accepted part of life, although many people neither like nor trust mutants nor magic. I hope that clears up any confusion.** **Yellow-eyed-wonder – Glad you're still enjoying this. As for Morttoten being killed so easily, it does make sense when you consider all of the following: he was very arrogant, and considered that he had much more power than he really possessed (remember, Jimaine knocked him unconscious fairly easily quite early on in the story) people who have that level of arrogance, both in real life and in fiction, often find this to be their undoing; he did not know that Quicksilver was a mutant who could move very quickly, so would not have been prepared, either mentally or physically, for an attack. He did not know that the Brotherhood were interested in protecting the Demon of Bayville, and could quite likely have heard that they were in fact interested in destroying it, so thought that they were potential allies, or at least not enemies; and, when he destroyed the ****Szardos Circus****, he had a lot of help from some very powerful magicians and mutants. His individual 'achievements' were never that impressive – he attempted to kill Kurt, only to be thwarted by Jimaine, and he was only able to kill Stefan when Stefan was being held back by his associates. Really, his only main achievements were convincing powerful people to join his cause, and his tenacious determination to go through with his task. Hopefully, if you take all of this into consideration, his death makes more sense (plus, on a purely meta note, I really didn't think he deserved an impressive death, I just wanted to destroy the arrogant fool, to give him a meaningless death as a punishment for causing poor Kurt such trouble).**

**Part III – "****We see with our eyes. We **_**know**_** with our hearts" – (Jim Henson)**

Kitty watched as Kurt used the mirror to watch her converse with Xavier and the other teaching faculty at the Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters. It was a slightly unsettling feeling, watching someone else watch her, and it made her feel rather uneasy. Did the back of her head really look like that? She laughed quietly to herself; of all the things to worry about after all she had seen and experienced in the last few hours. She had seemed so bloodthirsty and vicious back then, she had not even considered that Kurt might be an innocent scapegoat. She remembered hearing all of the rumours about the Demon of Bayville, and how much she had wanted to do something valuable in order to stop it from hurting anyone, ever again. She had thought that since Kurt looked like a demon, he must obviously be a demon, and so a creature that needed to be stopped at all cost. Poor Kurt, how many times had people thought like that, and caused him all sorts of trouble and heartache because of his rather unusual appearance. Kitty suddenly felt very guilty, and wanted to try to make friends with Kurt as soon as possible in order to try and make amends. She watched as Kurt watched her within the mirror; where he frowned as he listened to Xavier explain to her about the Demon of Bayville. "So they're sending pretty girls to come and meet with me," he muttered thoughtfully, "which is good. The only trouble is, these pretty girls want to kill me, which is bad." He shrugged, and gave a little laugh. "I guess the two sort of cancel each other out," he said. "Anyway, she's a mutant, so it's possible that she might listen to me, assuming that the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants don't cause any trouble."

"Did you see enough to convince you that I'm telling the truth?" Kitty nearly dropped the mirror when Kurt suddenly appeared behind her in a flash of bright light and a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke. He smiled at her apologetically when he realised that he had startled her. "Sorry," he said, "usually the rather unpleasant smell of my teleports alerts people to my arrival." Kurt looked rather apprehensive as he grinned at her in a self-conscious manner, being careful not to reveal his fangs. His demeanour seemed hopeful, but wary, as he watched her cautiously. He was carrying two huge bowls of food from the garden in each hand, and a fifth with his tail. He seemed so nervous and unsure, standing there all alone, that at that moment, Kitty really wanted to hug him. She desperately wanted to assure him that she knew now that he was a friend, and that he would not harm her in any way. Resisting the urge, she smiled at him instead, put down the mirror, and reached one hand towards him. Kurt gave her an uncertain look, but put down the bowls of food on the floor, and gratefully took her hand. Kitty stroked it reassuringly, and was rewarded by Kurt giving her the biggest grin that she had ever seen.

"There's just one thing that I don't understand," Kitty said quietly.

"What?" Kurt asked curiously.

"How can anyone have endured all of what you've been through," she said warmly, "and yet not be full of hate?"

Kurt seemed to practically radiate happiness when he heard her comment, and if anything, his grin grew even wider. "There's something I need to show you," he said, leading her over to the window. Kitty followed him, and stared down as Kurt pointed to the waterfall. "You see that?" he asked quietly.

Kitty merely nodded, as she stared down at where Kurt was pointing. "Across the border from here, there's another waterfall, much like this one," he told her, "and nearly seventeen years ago, a very wise and very loving woman found an infant by that waterfall." He turned to face Kitty, and pointed to his own exotic body. "The child was strange, and had an almost demonic appearance. It had blue fur, shining yellow eyes, and a long, spaded tail." He waved his tail in front of her playfully. "The woman had every reason to ignore the child, to drown it, or let it drown. She had two children of her own, and a circus business to run. But instead of destroying the child, she took him back to the circus with her, raised him, nurtured him and loved him as her own." Kurt suddenly became very serious. "That's why," he said, "my family may not have been perfect, but they were accepting, and gave me unconditional love. They did not teach me to hate."

Kitty smiled at him. "I saw," she said quietly, "within the mirror, it showed me you growing up within the circus. It seemed wonderful."

"It was," Kurt replied, then leapt up and grabbed on to one of the wooden rafters suspended from the ceiling, using his tail. Kitty laughed as Kurt began to swing from one beam to another, gripping them with either his feet or his tail. "And now, for one night only," he said dramatically, obviously imitating a ringmaster, "the Demon of Bayville will entertain his guest with amazing feats of death defying daring and amazing acrobatics!" he leapt into the air, spun around and did a double back flip, before landing neatly on his hands before Kitty. Kitty clapped enthusiastically as Kurt leapt over towards her, and landed upon her shoulders. He leaned down, and gave her an upside-down smile. "I performed acts of this nature every night," he explained, leaping off of her suddenly, and landing on all fours by her feet, "this is just a small example of the stunts performed by the Amazing Nightcrawler."

"I'm impressed," said Kitty sincerely, "it sounds like a wonderful way to grow up."

Kurt nodded, but his smile suddenly seemed to become rather sad. "It was," he said, "we travelled around, the whole caravan, visiting new places and seeing new countries. But that wasn't the best part about it, not at all. The best part was my family. They loved and nurtured me, and thought of me as their own, and so I thrived." He pointed to the garden below them. "The soil is good here," he said, "full of nutrients, and close to the river, so it gets enough water. So the plants grow easily, become luscious and green. With a little care and attention, they thrive." He turned and looked at Kitty once more, giving her a serious smile. "People are not all that different than plants, in some ways," he said seriously, "not really, not when you get right down to it. Give them a healthy, happy environment and they will develop and grow, and almost certainly do well. But if you plant a seed in poor soil, the plant might grow," he turned his attention back to the waterfall, and his eyes became rather sad once more, "but it will almost certainly not thrive. The day my mother found me, I was lucky to be accepted into such a loving family. I've heard it said that there are countless worlds out there, that there are numerous dimensions where, had things gone just a little differently, the course of our lives could have been very different, and that there are people living in those worlds." He turned back to Kitty, and smiled at her again. "There are numerous ways in which my life could have been worse had things gone differently for me that day. Had I stayed with my biological parents, I'm fairly sure that my life would have been much harsher. Had Margali left me to die or given me to an orphanage or something similar, I'm fairly sure I would be a different person than the smart, charming and funny, wonderful person you see before you now," he grinned at Kitty playfully for a moment, but quickly became serious once more. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are countless ways in which my life could have been made worse," he looked down, and seemed almost ashamed, "yet few if any where it could have been made better."

Kitty could once more barely resist the urge to hug him upon hearing that, but managed to merely smile at him and stroke his hand instead. She suspected that he was idealising his family a bit, but there could be no denying that the Szardos Circus had been a healthy and happy place for Kurt to grow and develop, and that his upbringing had had a significant influence on his developing into the admirable person that now stood before her. Still, there was always that sadness behind his smile, and she wanted to try to get rid of it if at all possible. She grinned at him playfully. "Maybe you could have been adopted by royalty instead," she said, "maybe a king could have been travelling in these parts, and could have found you and made you into a prince."

"That would have been interesting," Kurt said thoughtfully, "then I could have made all sorts of laws, like not discriminating against Romani and mutants and things like that."

"I bet you would have made a good king," Kitty said, grinning at him playfully again, "fair and just."

"Of course I would!" Kurt replied, suddenly leaping up and catching hold of the wooden rafter near the ceiling once more. He began swinging upside down in front of Kitty, grinning at her as he did so. "But I would not have been me. I would not have been an acrobat capable of doing this," he somersaulted, and landed on all fours before her, "I think even a life like that would have become boring eventually," he said seriously, "I'm not really a great fan of politics, I'd much rather do something useful and fun."

"You have," Kitty said sincerely, "within the mirror, I saw all that you have achieved in order to help others, never asking anything in return."

"Well, I was kind of asking them to stop trying to kill me all the time," Kurt said, giving her a sad smile.

Kitty suddenly could no longer resist the urge to hug him when she heard that. She put her arms around his shoulders, and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry," she whispered into his ear.

Kurt jumped slightly when she put her arms around him, but relaxed a moment later, and hugged her back in return. His tail snaked around her waist, and Kitty laughed as it tickled her. "Sorry," said Kurt, blushing slightly, "my tail has a mind of its own sometimes." he began to remove his tail, but stopped when Kitty reached for the tip, and stroked it gently.

"Don't, I like it where it is," she said, "hugs are good."

Kurt grinned once more, and his tail tightened its grip on her waist, just a little. "Hugs are very good," he agreed. "You have no idea how much I have missed hugs these last few months."

"People need human contact," Kitty agreed, stroking his tail absently, "if we are to develop as well as your plants."

"Yes," Kurt said, "and people trying to stick swords and knives and things into me doesn't really count," he added playfully.

"I'm so sorry," Kitty said again, tightening her grip on the tip of his tail. Realising suddenly what she was doing, she looked up at him guiltily. "You don't mind me doing this, do you?" she asked uncertainly.

Kurt shook his head, and smiled at her. "No, it's actually really nice," he said, "it feels a bit like this," he stroked the tip of her nose with one of his thick, furry fingers.

Kitty laughed as it tickled her nose slightly, and then looked down at his tail around her waist. "What does it feel like?" she asked curiously. "Having a tail, I mean."

"What does it feel like to have five fingers on each hand?" Kurt countered.

"Not fair, fuzzy elf," she said playfully, "I asked first."

"Fuzzy elf?" Kurt asked, grinning at her.

"You don't mind the name, do you?" she asked, pulling away from him just enough to look up into his eyes.

Kurt shook his head. "Believe me, I've been called worse," he said seriously. "But as for the tail, I've had it for as long as I can remember, so I don't know what it feels like not to have one. Just like you don't know what it feels like not to have five fingers on each hand."

"Technically, I have four fingers and a thumb," Kitty said playfully.

Kurt shrugged. "It's still too many," he said decisively.

Kitty suddenly burst out laughing. Kurt stared at her for a long moment, a bemused expression upon his face. "I didn't say anything funny," he said, "did I?"

"It's not that," Kitty said, still giggling, "I was just imagining Wolverine's face if he could see me now, talking to the Demon of Bayville about normal things, while he was hugging me with his tail, within the Castle of Death. It was a very amusing mental picture."

Kurt grinned at her, and gave a little laugh. "That is quite funny," he admitted.

Kitty leaned her head on his shoulder, and sighed happily. "I wonder what he would say if he could see us now," she said.

Kurt gave a little laugh. "He'd probably want to know what on Earth you were doing, holding on to me like this," he said, smiling at her, "he'd be desperate to know what on Earth was going on here."

"I guess he'd have a right to be curious," Kitty admitted, "I guess that they'd all be curious to find out more about you," she looked up into his yellow eyes, which seemed to be practically shining with happiness, "as am I," she said quietly. "I want to find out all about you, I want you to tell me all about yourself, so that I can get to know the real you."

Kurt grinned, and stroked her hair gently with his hand. "Of course," he said sincerely, "I never could refuse a beautiful lady anything that she requested," he said playfully.

"Thank you," Kitty said sincerely.

Kurt winked at her. "I'll tell you everything," Kurt said, "but later. First, let's have a feast," he led her over to the bowls of food he had picked earlier, "I've not eaten for hours, I'm starving!"

Kitty nodded and laughed. She felt strangely elated that she seemed to have finally made friends with Kurt, as she sat down beside him, and laughed as his tail once more tightened around her waist in a gentle hug. This time, when he gave her an apple, she accepted it gratefully, and soon found that it was the freshest, sweetest fruit that she had ever tasted, as she silently rejoiced in the company of her new friend.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Notes: Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews, glad you're still enjoying this. Dragoncat – I wanted to concentrate on friendship/fluff/Kurtty cuteness in the last chapter, rather than it being specifically romantic in tone. These two work well as a romantic couple, but they are great for friendship fics. That said, Kitty is certainly beginning to have some, er, **_**interesting **_**thoughts about Kurt in this chapter, which could be considered romantic if you look hard enough. Pointyearsrule – you are right about constructive criticism, it can be very useful to help an author improve. Much as it can be quite disconcerting to see a story that you thought was pretty good covered in red marks by your teacher, those comments can really help you to improve if they are both constructive and informative. Besides, there's nothing like the feeling of your teacher telling you that your story was excellent and giving you a First for it. ****Lilac Rose6 – Yes, those few hours do feel more like months, don't they (laughs). Although to be fair they have covered what has been happening to Kurt in a matter of months, rather than hours. Yellow-eyed-wonder – you are right, these two are so cute together, and they deserve some time to develop their friendship after all I've put poor Kurt through in the last few chapters. Now, on with the Kurtty cuteness;**

_Trust, Hope and Understanding_

Kitty could not remember the last time she felt so content. For the last few hours, she had talked with Kurt about all manner of subjects, ranging from his greatest fear, that he would somehow inherit evil from Mystique; to the most banal, such as his favourite type of cheese. Kurt was excellent company, as he had that rare gift in that he knew when to talk and when to listen; knew when to be serious and when it was time to make jokes. In fact, if Kitty were to make a list of the ten best qualities she would look for in a friend, and a similar list of Kurt's best qualities, the two would match up almost perfectly. Kurt told her about his happy childhood, growing up with the Szardos Circus, about endless days spent exploring forests with his brother and sister, and about exciting nights filled with awestruck crowds and applause. The more Kitty heard about the Szardos Circus, the more fascinated she became about Kurt's history, and everything that he had experienced in his many travels. To Kitty's surprise, Kurt was just as interested in her own childhood as she was in his. At first she had thought that he was merely teasing her, or being polite, when he seemed to become enthusiastic about aspects of her life that she had always considered to be rather dull and uninteresting, but then she remembered that he had never experienced many aspects of her life that she had simply taken for granted, so it made sense that they would seem exotic and strange to him. Kurt had only been inside a house twice, and had never so much as stepped inside a schoolroom, so it was not really all that surprising that he would be curious about what these would involve. Plus, his enthusiasm was infectious, and gave her a new appreciation of aspects of her life that she had never given much thought to before. It made sense that Kurt would be personable and approachable, since being in a circus had doubtlessly helped to develop his talent for charming the public, but there was nothing superficial about his charm. Kitty knew for a fact that this was simply one aspect of his personality, and that he really did care for people in a very deep way. Kitty had met other people who had seemed to be as nice and charming as Kurt, only to later discover that they were often jerks, and in at least one instance, a psychopath. It was almost refreshing to realise that there really were genuinely kind and charming young men in the world.

Of course, Kurt had been so desperate for a simple conversation for so long that it made sense that he would have been willing to talk to anyone about anything by this point. It had been so long since he had simply conversed with another human being, that Kitty suspected that Kurt would have been grateful for the opportunity to talk to even the most boring person in the world, and still enjoy the company. Kitty felt so sorry for him, having spent so long alone and feared, when he had done nothing to deserve such hatred. She leaned against his chest, and sighed happily as his tail tightened ever so slightly around her waist. She stroked the tip of his tail absently as she watched in a sort of bemused amusement as Kurt somehow managed to consume yet another whole cucumber. Kitty giggled slightly as she watched him. Kurt had the biggest appetite she had ever seen, and it was a wonder how he was able to maintain the lean yet muscular physique of a professional acrobat when he could eat so much. Kurt claimed that it was because teleporting took a great deal of energy, and so this helped him to keep his athletic figure. Kitty was unsure whether or not that was true, but she supposed that it might make sense. Kitty herself had eaten so much in the last few hours that she could not manage one more bite. "How can you eat that?" she asked, watching him as he grabbed a rather large tomato.

He grinned at her. "Like this," he said, and then placed it into his mouth whole.

Kitty laughed as she watched him. "Aren't you full up yet?" she asked.

Kurt looked at her as if she had suddenly gone crazy. "What? No, of course not," he said, "this is barely a snack."

Kitty was unsure whether or not he was being serious. "Well, I can't eat another morsel more," she said, watching as he grabbed a pear from one of the bowls.

Kurt looked at her seriously for a moment. "Are you sure?" he asked worriedly. "I don't want the X-Men to think that I starved you."

Kitty laughed and smiled at him playfully. "Trust me, Fuzzy, they won't think that," she assured him, "they might be worried that you are trying to fatten me up for supper, though," she added with a grin.

Kurt grinned back at her, before taking a bite out of the pear. "Curses," he said playfully, "she finally discovers my secret evil scheme," he growled playfully, showing his fangs as he did so.

"You don't frighten me, Fuzzy," she said, realising suddenly just how true it was.

"Really?" he placed his hand over his heart in a very dramatic manner, "I am mortified to hear that!"

Kitty laughed, and a moment later, Kurt joined her. Kurt took another bite from his pear, and then gave Kitty a worried look. "Are you sure that you've had enough to eat?" he asked her.

Kitty laughed again. "Trust me, I've not had a meal this big since," she frowned, and then shrugged, "well, I can't remember when, but it was a long time ago."

"Well, if you're sure," said Kurt uncertainly, "sorry all of the food's raw. I haven't been able to cook anything ever since the incident with the fire. I can't even be in the same room as a candle flame, let alone a cooking fire, ever since I was nearly burnt to death. If you want to cook something, the kitchen's downstairs."

"Trust me, Fuzzy, you do not want me to cook anything," Kitty told him sincerely, "I could burn water."

"That's impossible," Kurt shook his head, "water's just burnt hydrogen, and you can't burn something that's already burnt."

Kitty gave him a surprised look, and Kurt grinned at her sheepishly. "What? You think that because I was home educated by Romani that I don't know things? Margali insisted that we would all have a decent education, she did not want us to be stupid."

"I know that you're not stupid," Kitty told him sincerely. She had actually been incredibly surprised by how smart and well educated Kurt seemed to be. She smiled at him playfully. "But trust me, you do not want me anywhere near the kitchen, and you certainly don't want me to try to cook anything. The last time I tried to make cakes, anyone who tried them said they were one of the worst things that they had ever tasted."

Kurt gave her a slightly concerned look. "What happened to those who insulted your cakes?" he asked, sounding ever so slightly worried.

"They ended up wearing them," Kitty replied.

Kurt gave her a thoughtful look for a moment, and then grinned. "Edible clothing," he said pensively, "there could be a market for that. Just think, you go out on a cold day, and by the afternoon, the sun comes up, and it becomes really hot. So you eat the sleeve of your coat rather than changing your clothes. It's a great idea. That way you can keep cool, and have a good meal at the same time."

Kitty laughed, then blushed furiously at the slightly disturbing and oddly rather pleasant image of Kurt dressed in nothing but food, and then slowly eating his clothes off. Kurt gave her a bemused look as she felt her cheeks heat up at the image. "Are you feeling unwell?" Kurt asked her, concern in his voice. "You are looking rather red."

Kitty coughed and choked for a moment, then gave Kurt a sheepish look. "I'm fine," she assured him quickly, looking away and suddenly feeling very embarrassed. "I was just wondering what it would look like if people wore edible clothing," she said, truthfully enough, "it was a slightly disturbing image, that's all."

"Well, if you are sure that you are not unwell," Kurt said, sounding concerned, "you did look rather red just a moment ago."

"I'm fine, don't worry," she replied rather hurriedly, "but you really don't want me in the kitchen, and you certainly don't want me making cakes," she tried desperately to get her mind off of the image of Kurt dressed in nothing but fruit and vegetables, "the last time I made rock cakes, people asked me if I put real rocks in them."

"Did you?" Kurt asked curiously.

"No," Kitty replied, "but I might as well have done. Those who tried them said that they were as hard as rocks."

"Kitty's rock cakes, hard as rocks!" Kurt said dramatically. "They could have made excellent weapons against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. We could have thrown rock cakes at them as they tried to invade the castle." Kurt grinned at Kitty enthusiastically.

"Except that they don't know that we're here," Kitty reminded him, "but I'm serious about my cakes. Really, don't let me anywhere near the kitchen; I can't cook to save my life."

Kurt merely shrugged. "If you insist," he said, "I could use the mirror instead, see if anyone has thrown out a nice juicy steak recently, and then scavenge that for our supper.

"No thank you, I really am full," said Kitty sincerely, "and besides, I'm vegetarian."

"No wonder you're so skinny," Kurt muttered, flicking the tip of his tail towards her playfully.

"It's a wonder that you are, the amount you eat," said Kitty, poking him playfully in the stomach.

Kurt shrugged again. "I'm a growing acrobat," he told her, "I have to keep my strength up."

"I guess," Kitty replied, snuggling closer to Kurt as he put his arms around her in a gentle hug. "But I was serious earlier, about being full up and not able to eat another mouthful," she said.

"What about your edible clothing range?" Kurt asked her playfully.

Kitty blushed again, the disturbingly pleasant image of Kurt dressed in nothing but food suddenly back at the forefront of her mind. She looked away from him quickly. "I think it would attract insects, and not be very hygienic," she muttered awkwardly, hoping that Kurt did not see her blush. "Anyway, let's talk about something else," she said hurriedly, "I think I should choose a mutant name, don't you?" she said, desperately trying to change the subject, "how about Sprite, what do you think about that?"

Kurt gave her a puzzled look, and then shrugged. "No, I think that sounds like the sort of name you'd give to a child with mutant powers," he said thoughtfully, "I think you need something more adult, more X-Manish."

She nodded, and grinned at him. "How about Ariel?" she suggested.

Kurt shook his head. "No, that sounds like you should have powers relating to the air or the sea," he said, "not powers that are connected with stealth and the night."

"Well, you already have Nightcrawler," Kitty said.

"How about Shadow?" Kurt suggested. "A shadowy figure that can pass through walls as if they are not even there, a being half way between the night and the day."

Kitty smiled thoughtfully. "I like that," she said, "Shadow; it's sort of dark without being too dark. The Shadow Kitty who can walk through walls themselves."

"Shadowcat," Kurt said, grinning at her, "not Shadow Kitty, Shadowcat; that sounds sort of like a panther or something equally as impressive. A cat that can become one with the shadows."

"I like it," Kitty said sincerely, "Shadowcat. I think I'll keep it." Kitty smiled at Kurt once more, then looked down, almost shyly. "What about you?" she asked quietly. "Will you keep Nightcrawler, or will you choose a different mutant name when you come back with me?"

"What?" Kurt asked, suddenly looking uncomfortable and uncertain.

"You are coming back with me, aren't you?" Kitty asked hopefully. "I mean, you're everything that we look for in an X-Man, brave, kind, determined and resilient," she grinned at him.

Kurt gave her a quick grin. "Not to mention dashingly handsome," he added.

"Exactly," said Kitty, smiling at him sincerely, "so you are coming home with me, aren't you? You have to admit, you've been pretty lonely here all by yourself."

"Well, yes," Kurt said, then pointed to the window, "but you have to admit that it's got a great view," he added.

Kitty smiled as she and Kurt walked towards the window, and looked down at the pine trees and the waterfall. "The view's lovely," she admitted, "but we both know that pretty views are not enough for true happiness. People need to have human contact too, and you've not been getting nearly enough of that, cooped up here in this drafty castle all alone. That's why you spent so much time talking to your doll."

"It's not drafty, is it?" Kurt asked her worriedly.

Kitty gave a little laugh. "No, it's actually quite nice," she said, "it's not drafty, not now, not while the sun is shining and it's really warm. But winter is on its way, so what will you do then?" she asked him seriously. "Then this castle will get drafty and cold. Especially if you're so scared of fire that you can't even stand to be in the same room as a candle. What are you going to do then? Freeze?" She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a meaningful look.

"Maybe it will be a mild winter," said Kurt awkwardly, shuffling uncomfortably, "maybe all I'll have to do is wear an extra layer of clothes and put an extra blanket upon my bed. Don't worry about me, I'm good at surviving," he gave her a reassuring smile, "I've managed to do it successfully for nearly seventeen years, so I've had a lot of practice."

"Listen, be serious for a moment," said Kitty, looking at him worriedly, "what if it isn't a mild winter? What will you do then?"

Kurt gave a huge sigh. "Then I guess I'll just have to go somewhere else," he admitted reluctantly, "maybe Holland. I hear the Hollandish are very tolerant towards mutants and people who have rather exotic lifestyles," he shrugged uncertainly, "it might be quite nice to visit Amsterdam, see all the famous windmills and tulips and things. I wonder if they make clogs for feet like mine?" he mused thoughtfully.

"Or you could join the X-Men," Kitty said hopefully, "and anyway, it's Dutch, not Hollandish," she added.

"Oh, be fair, this isn't my first language," said Kurt, "and anyway, they should be called the Hollandish, it would make a lot more sense, like the Spanish or the English. How do you get Dutch from Holland anyway?"

"Listen, that's not what's important right now," said Kitty, "it's you who are important. I want you to come back with me. I want everyone I know at the Academy to meet you, and I want you to join the X-Men," she looked down, and suddenly felt oddly shy and nervous, "I've never met anyone like you before," she admitted, "and I don't mean just physically. I think I'd like to get to know you better, I'd like us to become good friends who spend time with each other and play and laugh and even cry together, and the best way that we can do that is if you come back with me to the X-Men Mansion."

Kurt gave a huge sigh. "Look, I'd like to," he said sincerely, "I like spending time with you and talking with you and laughing with you too. But I can't do what you ask. For a start, the X-Men want me dead."

"No," Kitty corrected, "they want the Demon of Bayville dead, not you, not Kurt the harmless and heroic acrobat. They don't know about the real you. If they did, I'm sure that they would like you as much as I do," she blushed slightly, "well, maybe not quite as much as I do," she added quietly.

Kurt smiled at her sadly. "It's still the same thing," he said. "Whether they want the Demon of Bayville dead or just me, they have a spell over that place so that if I so much as set foot in there, I'll burst into flames," he shuddered, "quite a good reason not to enter, all things considered."

"Listen to me," said Kitty patiently, "the spell's there to stop a demon from entering that place, but you're not a demon, so it will not have any effect on you."

"I'd still rather not take the chance," Kurt admitted.

Kitty gave him a sad smile. "I can understand why you feel that way," she said sympathetically, "but I saw that holy water has no effect on you, so this spell will also have no effect. It's there to stop a demon, not to stop you."

"I'm sorry," Kurt admitted, "I just don't want to take that much of a risk."

Kitty took his hands in her own. "Even if you're right," she said quietly, "even if this spell will somehow have some effect on you, I won't let it hurt you. I'll phase you through the flames and make sure that they can't hurt you." She grinned at him playfully. "Sorry, Fuzzy, you're going to have to come up with a better excuse than that."

"It's not an excuse," said Kurt seriously, "and even if you're right about the spell, there's still hundreds of mutants in that place with very destructive powers, and they want me dead. So, I think that all things considered, I have a very good reason for avoiding that place if at all possible."

"There's sense in what you're saying," Kitty had to grudgingly admit, "but what if I were to take the mirror with me, show Xavier all that you've shown me so that he removes the spell, and then all the mutants were to realise that you're not a threat to anyone or anything. If, after all that, would it be acceptable for me to come back here for you, and for you to join us then?"

Kurt looked away uncertainly. "I would have to think about it," he muttered, "my last confrontation with the X-Men did not go very well," he rubbed his side where Kitty knew Wolverine had wounded him a few weeks ago.

"When they know the truth, things will be different," Kitty assured him, "and they will all want to make amends for misjudging you so badly."

Kurt sighed, and shook his head sadly. "I'll still have to think about it," he said awkwardly, "and sleep on it. You should get some sleep too, it's starting to get dark," he indicated where the sun was setting upon the horizon, "and this castle can get pretty cold at night. Besides, I'm pretty tired. One way or another, I think we've both had a very interesting day," he smiled at her uncertainly.

"Well, I can't argue with that," Kitty said with a smile, "it's certainly been nothing like I imaged it would be."

"Better I hope?" Kurt asked shyly.

She quickly kissed him on the cheek, and then gave him a reassuring smile. "Yes," she said sincerely, "much."

Kurt gave her a huge grin, before turning his attention to the window once more. "I was serious about how cold this place gets at night, and it gets really dark too," he said. "You really should get some sleep. If you need anything, I will be in the next room."

Kitty sighed, but conceded that she was rather tired. "Very well, but we'll continue this conversation tomorrow," she told him seriously, "I'm not just giving up on you without a fight."

Kurt gave a little laugh. "I would not expect you to," he said seriously, "but for now, you really should get some sleep. We can discuss this tomorrow."

"I agree," said Kitty, "and if I need anything, I just have to walk through the wall to see you, is that correct?"

Kurt merely nodded. "Sweet dreams," he said, before vanishing in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Notes: As always, thanks for all the reviews, you make all the time and effort I spend working on this story worth it. ****Sweetheart14879 – yes, they do make a really cute couple, and are great for friendship and romance fics. Yellow-eyed-wonder – glad you're still enjoying this. It's not so much that Kurt doesn't trust Kitty, it's more that he's already been attacked by the X-Men, and so is understandably reluctant to come back with Kitty because of this. Pointyearsrule – I like to add little references to the comics, especially where they relate to Kurt or Kitty's past. Well done for noticing all the references. FireShifter – glad you liked the last chapter. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the late, great Jim Henson. He's one of those rare geniuses (Neil Gaiman is another) whose creativity and imagination was matched only by his humanity and morality. In studies it's been found that children raised on programmes created by Jim Henson tended to be less prejudiced and more tolerant than those who were not. That's quite a legacy to leave, and I think that had Jim Henson lived on into the Twenty-First Century, the world would have been an ever so slightly better place, he was taken from us far too soon. Plus (and this is a **_**much**_** more superficial reason) I share the same date of birth with this wonderful American creative genius ;)**

**Now on with the story; **

_What Dreams May Come_

Kitty was unable to sleep, and this was beginning to frustrate her. She knew that Kurt would not hurt her, knew that she was perfectly safe within the castle, but she still could not seem to relax and so drift off into sleep. She sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. It was like this every time she tried to sleep in a strange bed, for the first night, she could never seem to get any sleep, even when her bed was soft and comfortable. Kitty could not seem to stop thinking about Kurt, she really wanted to convince him to come back with her and to join the X-Men, but she could understand perfectly why he was reluctant to do so. Even if it were not for the spell on the X-Men Mansion, Kurt had been attacked by Wolverine, Amara and Rahne, so it was no wonder that he was reluctant to come back with her. As if Wolverine's claws were not enough reason to make anyone with any sense want to avoid the X-Men, there was the sad fact that the X-Men thought that Kurt was a murderous demon, and so wanted to kill him at the first opportunity. Kitty reasoned that she would also be reluctant to join the X-Men if she were in Kurt's position. Still, he could not spend the rest of his life cooped up inside the Castle of Death, Kurt was playful and sociable, and not the sort of person who could spend a great deal of time alone. Doing so was bound to eventually drive him crazy; he was the sort of person who needed human interaction and affection in order to stay healthy and sane. That meant that Kitty had to convince him to leave and accompany her, no matter how difficult that might be.

Kitty rolled onto her side, and stared out of the window at the full moon, then shut her eyes. Sleep still refused to come. She yawned, but it did no good. She sighed once more, and smiled to herself. She missed Lockheed, her toy stuffed purple dragon. Her parents had given it to her when she had been around five or six years old, and it had quickly become her favourite toy. Even when she grew too old to play with it any longer, she still kept it, and liked to cuddle it when she slept. Kitty smiled to herself, and reached down for the Little Nightcrawler doll. She hugged it close to herself, finding its presence strangely comforting. She idly wondered how often Kurt had hugged the doll in order to gain comfort from it, when he had been anxious or sad. Kurt had certainly had enough reason to need comfort, especially after his family had been murdered. Kitty tightened her grip on the doll, and snuggled down further under the covers as she did so. She was finally just beginning to fall asleep, when she heard moaning from the other side of the stone wall. She suddenly sat up straight, and listened intently. It was Kurt's voice, although it sounded as if he was talking in his sleep. He also sounded incredibly anxious and sad. For a moment, Kitty was unsure what to do for the best, but quickly decided that she had better see if Kurt needed any help. She phased through the wall, and then looked down with no small amount of pity at the sleeping Kurt. He was lying in a sort of makeshift bed on the floor, made out of blankets and cushions of all shapes and sizes. Although it looked like it was quite comfortable, Kitty suddenly felt rather guilty for using his own bed. Of course there would only be one bed in this castle, why would Kurt scavenge a spare bed? Still, that was not what upset her the most. What really made her pity Kurt was watching him thrash and panic in his sleep, making it obvious that he was having some sort of nightmare.

"I'm sorry!" Kurt said tearfully. "Stefan, I'm so sorry! I did not mean to abandon you, did not mean to leave you all to die!" He sobbed quietly, and Kitty kneeled down next to him. She did not want to scare him by waking him up, but could not stand to watch him endure such a horrible nightmare. Gently, she put her hand on his left shoulder, and leaned closer to him, so that she could whisper in his ear. "Its fine, Kurt, I'm here," she whispered, ever so quietly, so as not to startle him.

"Jimaine?" Kurt suddenly sat up, wide awake, and almost knocked Kitty over as he did so. For a moment his eyes seemed terrified, and then he saw Kitty kneeling over him, watching him with concern in her own eyes. He smiled at her uncertainly, suddenly looking rather embarrassed. "Sorry," he said, "did I wake you up?"

Kitty shook her head. "No," she said honestly, "I could not sleep anyway."

"Sorry," said Kurt again, "do you need an extra blanket or anything?"

Kitty shook her head again. "No, I'm fine," she assured him, "it's just that I always have trouble sleeping in a strange bed. I always did, even as a child. When I went on holiday with my parents, the first night in the hotel, I usually got no sleep at all." She smiled at Kurt reassuringly. "Don't worry about that. But you, it looks like you've been having some pretty unpleasant nights yourself," she said meaningfully.

Kurt sighed, and smiled at her awkwardly. "It's just a bad dream," he said, trying to sound dismissive, and not quite succeeding, "there's nothing I can do about it."

Kitty gave him a long, sympathetic look, and then hugged him gently. "Is it the same dream you've had every night since the circus burnt down?" she asked him quietly.

"You're too perceptive," Kurt said, wrapping his arms around her and returning the hug, "I don't have it every night, but I've had a similar dream every few nights ever since that horrible day."

For a long moment, Kitty just hugged him, and smiled at him reassuringly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she said after a long pause, "but sometimes it can help. Do you want to tell me about your dream?"

Kurt shuddered for a moment, and then looked away. "I can't remember the details now," he admitted quietly, "but I've had some version of this dream for months now. It usually starts off with Morttoten and his followers demanding that I be given to him. Sometimes Stefan comes to get me, and tells me that I have to go to Morttoten, if the circus is going to survive. Sometimes it just sort of fades, and then I see my circus family, except they're all on fire and they tell me that I abandoned them to save myself." Kurt sighed, and looked at Kitty, tears in his eyes. "Sometimes they call me a cuckoo," he added.

"Why a cuckoo?" Kitty asked, suddenly confused.

"Cuckoo's are the villains of the bird world," Kurt explained sadly, "the mother cuckoo lays her eggs in the nest of another bird, so that this bird will raise the cuckoo's young as her own. Except that the young cuckoo is usually bigger than the other chicks, and ends up eating most of the food, so that the other bird's chicks usually die." He looked away sadly. "You can see the connection, can't you?" he asked quietly. "Mystique leaving her young in the charge of another woman, and her own children dying so that Mystique's young could survive," he said sadly. "Just like the cuckoo."

Kitty tightened her grip on him, as she continued to hug him comfortingly. "Don't talk like that," she whispered in his ear, "please, none of that was your fault. You didn't abandon anybody."

"I left them to die," Kurt said sadly.

"You couldn't help that," Kitty said sympathetically. "I know, because when my own powers first manifested, I had no control over them either. I fell through the stairs, and landed on the kitchen floor below, nearly scaring my parents out of their wits. You should have seen the trouble my father had, trying to remove my overcoat from where it was stuck in the kitchen ceiling." She gave a little laugh, but quickly became serious once more. "You could not help what happened when your powers first manifested, no one can blame you for that."

"Still," Kurt said sadly, "the fact remains that they might all still be alive right now if it wasn't for me. Can you deny that?"

Kitty felt her heart almost break at the look in his eyes, she had never seen such sadness and self-loathing before, and she could barely stand to see Kurt in such emotional pain. The worst thing was; she could not deny the possibility that Kurt was right, and that his family might still be alive if it were not for him, no matter how much she wanted to. She smiled at Kurt reassuringly. "No one knows what might have been," she said softly, comfortingly, "but I know from what I saw within the mirror that you are a good person, and that you were prepared to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your adopted family, and would have done so if you could. I know, I saw all this in the mirror, and the mirror shows only the truth, without excuses or prejudices." She smiled at Kurt reassuringly. "Trust me, I saw you making some pretty stupid decisions within the mirror, as well as all the times when you were brave and noble."

"When did I ever make stupid decisions?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Stealing from the Brotherhood was pretty stupid," said Kitty, "didn't you realise that they'd just get more weapons and put a spell on the Brotherhood Boarding House in order to prevent you from going there in the future?"

"I guess it was pretty short-sighted," Kurt admitted grudgingly, "I just thought that it would do some good if I stole some weapons from them, thought it would prevent them from killing again."

"It wouldn't," Kitty said sadly, "even if you stole all of their swords and knives and things, what's to stop them from making improvised weapons? A broken glass bottle could make an excellent weapon, and normal cleaning chemicals could make excellent poisons. You could hardly steal everything that they might use as a weapon, because almost anything can potentially be used as some form of weapon."

Kurt gave her a small smile, and sighed. "I guess I just did not think that far ahead," he admitted, "fine, I admit that stealing from the Brotherhood might have been pretty stupid, since they could make a weapon out of just about anything."

"Well, except for this, perhaps," Kitty said, as she reached inside her pocket for the Little Nightcrawler doll, "I'm not quite sure how this could be turned into a weapon."

Kurt smiled as he took the doll from her. "Little Nightcrawler," he said, hugging the doll, "I've missed you. Where have you been?"

"I found it under your bed," Kitty said, "it was a bit dusty, but it's more or less clean now."

"I guess I must have dropped him while I was recovering from the wound that Wolverine gave me," said Kurt thoughtfully.

"Why didn't you just use the mirror to locate it?" Kitty asked.

Kurt shook his head. "Magic can be really useful, but should only really be used in emergencies, or when all other methods fail. Magic can be really addictive if you start to rely on it."

"Still, I saw Margali use magic to send you to sleep, and she said that she had used similar spells when you were very young," said Kitty, "that doesn't sound like an emergency to me."

"No?" Kurt grinned at her. "Margali was a single mother with a circus to run, and three children under five, the youngest of which could quite literally climb up the walls. I think that could be considered an emergency without too much of a stretch of the imagination, at least, enough of an emergency to justify using a simple sleep spell on occasion."

Kitty gave a little laugh. "I guess so," she said, "I didn't really think about it like that," she admitted.

Kurt nodded, and smiled at her. "At least, she had far greater reason to use the occasional spell than I did to use the mirror in order to just find a doll." Kurt looked down at the Little Nightcrawler doll, and stroked it absently. "I've missed him though," he admitted, "I used to sleep with him sometimes." He gave Kitty a rather embarrassed look. "I guess you must think it's rather odd, a sixteen year old boy sleeping with a doll," he said.

Kitty shook her head, and reached over to pat the Little Nightcrawler doll on the head. "Not at all," she said sincerely, "Little Nightcrawler here was made by your brother, so he sort of connects you to your family and your happy childhood in the circus. It's no wonder that you want to keep him close to you."

"Thank you," said Kurt sincerely, "it means a lot that you understand."

"Besides, I have something similar," Kitty admitted, "a toy dragon called Lockheed. He's pretty old and rather threadbare by now, but I still like to sleep with him. When I was younger, I used to imagine that he was alive, and that we would have all sorts of adventures together," she smiled at the memory.

Kurt grinned at her. "I can imagine that," he said sincerely, "I can't imagine you with a toy doll or bear, but a dragon; that seems like the right toy for you somehow."

Kitty smiled, and looked down at the Little Nightcrawler doll. "Lockheed helped me sleep sometimes," she said, "especially when I had a nightmare. Perhaps if I left Little Nightcrawler with you, he might help you sleep too."

"Maybe, he might help," Kurt said, then grinned playfully, and held out the Little Nightcrawler doll towards Kitty. He spoke in a high pitched voice, as though pretending that the doll was talking. "Hello Kitty," he said, jiggling the doll ever so slightly, "thank you for finding me."

Kitty giggled, and reached towards the Little Nightcrawler doll. She took its tiny hand in her own, and shook it gently. "You are very welcome, Mister Little Nightcrawler," she said bowing her head ever so slightly.

Kurt grinned, and then pointed Little Nightcrawler's other hand towards himself. He continued to speak in the same high pitched tone of voice, "Why are you wasting time with this fool?" he asked in his Little Nightcrawler voice, "isn't it obvious that I'm much cuter. Why don't you spend more time with me instead of him?"

Kitty giggled again. "Oh Mister Little Nightcrawler," she said, "I must admit that you are really cute. However," she turned her attention away from the doll, and looked directly into Kurt's eyes, "I must tell you that I actually like the original Nightcrawler even better."

Kurt swallowed as Kitty put her hand on his cheek, and stroked it gently. "You," he gulped, suddenly using his normal tone of voice, "you do?" he asked. He suddenly looked very uncertain and unsure of himself.

Kitty nodded, and smiled at him reassuringly. "I do," she told him sincerely, "I really like the original version."

Kurt swallowed again, and then quickly turned his attention back to the Little Nightcrawler doll. He grabbed it with his tail, and hid it behind his back. "Don't say that too loudly," he whispered in Kitty's ear, "or Little Nightcrawler will get jealous. He likes to think that he's the cutest thing that there is."

Kitty laughed, and then reached around Kurt to look at the Little Nightcrawler doll. "Don't worry, Little Nightcrawler," she said reassuringly, "I still like you, and think you're cute." She stroked the doll, and then took it from Kurt's tail. Kurt turned around and looked at her, and she stoked his cheek once more, "I just like the original even more."

Kurt looked down awkwardly. "I like you too," he said, "I like you a lot, and I would like to go back with you, but I'm afraid of what the X-Men will do to me if I come with you."

Kitty nodded, and smiled at him reassuringly. "I understand," she said, "but we can discuss this in the morning. Right now, you should really go back to bed."

Kurt wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Now how can I refuse an offer like that from a beautiful woman?" he asked playfully.

Kitty hit him lightly on the shoulder, and laughed. "Not like that," she said, "you go back to your bed, and I'll sleep here tonight. I feel bad about taking your only bed."

Kurt shook his head. "No, its fine," he said, "it's quite comfortable here." He pointed to the cushions and blankets.

Kitty looked him in the eyes, and put her hands on her hips. "I mean it Fuzzy," she said determinedly, "you should go back to your bed. Take Little Nightcrawler with you, and with any luck he will be able to keep the nightmares away."

"I hope so," said Kurt sincerely, as he retrieved the Little Nightcrawler doll. He looked at Kitty uncertainly for a moment, and then smiled at her. "Are you sure that you don't mind sleeping here?" he asked. "You do have an injured arm after all."

Kitty shook her head. She had almost forgotten about her injured arm, as it had stopped hurting hours ago. "I'm fine;" she assured him, "now go to bed. We have a lot to talk about tomorrow, and I want to ensure that you are rested enough for us to be able to have a decent conversation."

"Well, if you insist," said Kurt uncertainly. He smiled at her, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good night, sweet maid, see you in the morning," he said, and then vanished in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of purple smoke.

Kitty smiled to herself, and snuggled down amongst the blankets and cushions. She was just beginning to fall asleep, when she heard moaning from the other side of the wall. Unsure what to do, she got up and phased through the wall, to where Kurt was sleeping on his bed. Kitty smiled sadly, as she watched him thrash around in his bed, his Little Nightcrawler doll held tightly in his hands. Gently, she stroked Kurt's shoulder, but he did not wake up. She watched him thrash for a moment more, before deciding that she really needed to comfort him in some way. She smiled to herself once more, this would be difficult to explain if anyone were to ask awkward questions, but she liked Kurt, and hated to see him in such anguish. Besides, it was completely innocent, and she was fairly sure that Kurt would not do anything that she did not want him to do. Carefully, she got into bed beside him, hugging him gently to help to calm him down. "Its fine, I'm here," she whispered reassuringly in his ear. Kurt seemed to calm down considerably upon hearing that, and his tail wrapped around Kitty's waist. Kitty laughed quietly as it tickled her, and then leaned her head against Kurt's back. "You're safe here," she whispered in his ear, and then sighed contentedly, as she slowly drifted into sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Notes: Thank you for all for the great reviews, I'm glad you're still enjoying this. The scene with the Little Nightcrawler doll was actually the inspiration for the entire story, as I thought it would be rather cute, and the whole story sort of grew from there. The doll certainly makes a great plot device, and I'm glad you find it cute. ****Pointyearsrule - ****I'm trying to keep the developing relationship between Kitty and Kurt respectful (and PG), since although they are mutually attracted to each other, they are also teenagers, and affairs of the heart can be awkward and uncertain at that age. (Besides, they've only known each other for a day or so, and they're already kissing, cuddling and sleeping together!) But seriously, I want to keep their relationship tasteful and cute rather than graphic and explicit, and I want to keep them both in character. ****Sweetheart14879 – The Brotherhood have not been idle, and have not finished causing trouble for poor Kurt. Your questions will be answered, but not just yet. I want to give Kurt a break from all the pain and torture, give the poor guy some cute fluffy friendship and romance before I get back to torturing him. (I know, I'm mean, but the plot of countless stories could be summarised as **_**Nasty Things Happen to Someone Who Really Doesn't Deserve to Experience Them**_**).****The Walls Of Jericho – You're right, of course, with a bit of imagination, just about anything could be turned into a weapon. The Brotherhood could also remove the stitching from the Little Nightcrawler doll, and use it to strangle someone. Still, Kitty was not really thinking about that, as it was tangential to her main point, that Kurt stealing from the Brotherhood would not stop them from harming people, since they could just use improvised weapons. Still, the Little Nightcrawler doll would probably not make a very good weapon simply because it was designed to be as harmless as possible, and suitable for young children. The Brotherhood would therefore be unlikely to use it as a weapon simply because there are numerous substances and artefacts that they could utilise in order to make much more efficient and effective weapons. **

**Now, time to get inside Kurt's head;**

_Prospects and Choices_

Kurt yawned, and smiled happily to himself. He was being held in a tight embrace, and had not felt so safe and comfortable since he had been a very small child. He opened his eyes as the first rays of dawn shone through the window, and then he suddenly gasped when he realised that Kitty was in bed with him. He turned his head, and saw Kitty sleeping peacefully next to him, her head resting comfortably on his back. She was so beautiful, and so serene, she looked almost like an angel beside him. He gave a sad smile, an angel and a demon sharing a bed together, now that was pretty strange. It was odd, yet strangely comforting, to know that she trusted him enough to share his bed and sleep beside him. He knew what must have happened, he must have had the same nightmare that had plagued him for so long, and Kitty, being soft-hearted and sympathetic, had felt pity towards him. She must have climbed into bed beside him in order to comfort him. He felt very grateful towards her, but could still imagine that she might feel rather awkward when she woke up. He did not want to cause her undue stress, so decided to do what he usually did when faced with an ambiguous situation, which was to make a joke and laugh about the situation. Kitty sighed contentedly as she snuggled against Kurt's back, and slowly opened her eyes. Kurt grinned at her. "You know, your bow is really not going to like it that you are sleeping with other men," he told her playfully.

Kitty smiled at him, and tightened her grip around his waist. "He tried to kill me," she muttered, still half-asleep, "I think that means that our relationship is over."

"I guess that would be a pretty good reason for ending a relationship," Kurt admitted.

Kitty nodded absently, and closed her eyes. "You have a nice back," she said sleepily, "soft, furry and comfortable."

Kurt grinned happily. "My front's quite nice too," he said quietly.

"Yes," Kitty agreed sleepily, "you make a very nice pillow."

Kurt gave a little laugh. "Thank you," he said, "maybe when the X-Men finally get around to killing me, they'll let you have me stuffed and mounted so that you can use me for a pillow all the time," he said playfully.

"Don't say that," said Kitty, suddenly wide awake and anxious, "please, not even as a joke."

Kurt gave her a worried look, and then put his hands up defensively. "Sorry," he said, "you mean you would be upset if they came and killed me?"

"Of course I would," Kitty said, "I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you."

Kurt gave her a sad smile. She looked so worried all of a sudden, and he felt bad for making her feel so anxious. "It means a lot to me that you feel that way," he told her sincerely, "but I accepted long ago that I'm not going to have a long life. It's only a matter of time until I teleport a moment too late, or do something else that will get me killed."

"Please, don't talk like that," said Kitty anxiously.

"Not if it upsets you," said Kurt, "but isn't it obvious that it's only a matter of time until something bad happens to me? After all, half the town want me dead, including a lot of mutants who have some very destructive powers."

Kitty sat up, and looked at Kurt seriously. "No," she said, "it's the Demon of Bayville they want dead. Not you, not Kurt."

"They don't know the difference," Kurt said quietly.

"But they will," Kitty assured him, "once I show them all you've shown me, they'll know that you're good. Then, when I've shown them everything, you'll come back to the X-Men Mansion with me, won't you?" she asked, almost pleadingly.

Kurt could not stand to see the almost desperate look in her beautiful eyes. He wanted so much to do what she asked, but still had the scar marks from his previous encounter with Wolverine, so felt some reluctance to accompany Kitty, regardless of how much she wanted him to come with her. Still, he was unable to refuse her anything, not when she looked at him with such a pleading expression. He decided to stall instead. "I'm going to bathe," he told her gently, getting out of bed and picking up a rather ugly orange towel, "we can talk about this later."

Kitty seemed unsure, but nodded and smiled at him. "Please, at least think about coming back with me," she said.

"I will," Kurt assured her. He picked up his Little Nightcrawler doll, and handed it to her. "I promise on this doll," he put a hand over his heart dramatically, which had the intended effect of making Kitty laugh. He smiled at her, and indicated the Little Nightcrawler doll. "Let Little Nightcrawler keep you company until I return," he said.

Kitty hugged the doll affectionately. "Thank you," she said sincerely, "he will do for company until the original Nightcrawler comes back."

Kurt nodded, and nearly tripped over the bowl containing the gelatinous green Romani magic curse that he had sucked out of Kitty's arm the day before. He would have to deal with that at some point, perhaps bury it in the garden somewhere, preferably away from his plants so that it would not be able to harm them. Still, that could wait until later. Kurt bowed slightly to Kitty, gently kissed her on the cheek, and then teleported down to the river by the waterfall.

Kurt undressed, and then leapt into the river. It always helped to bathe after he had been plagued by nightmares; it was as if the river was somehow able to wash the bad dreams away. Besides, it gave him a chance to think, and to realise that Kitty was right about just about everything. He could hardly spend the rest of his life hiding away in the Castle of Death. He looked up at the castle, and smiled to himself. When had the castle become home? He was not entirely sure, as he had never intended to stay there very long. When he had first entered the castle, he had simply intended to use it as a place to shelter from the storm, before going elsewhere. Then he had been unsure where to go, so had tried to make the castle liveable, by scavenging all he needed, and growing food in the castle grounds. Maybe that was when he had first thought of the castle as home, or perhaps it had been when the first plants began to grow? He had been naive back then, had thought that he would be able to grow everything that he needed, and so would not need to scavenge any more. It was only now that the garden was beginning to grow enough food for a decent meal, and it was obvious that he would be able to grow hardly anything when winter arrived. He would have quite liked to have grown some flowers in the garden, but had quickly realised that all of his plants would have to have some practical value, either as food or some form of medicine, there just was not enough room to grow plants that had no value other than just to look pretty. Already some of the plants were beginning to die, as the autumn leaves were beginning to fall from the trees, creating a rather attractive natural carpet of brown, red and yellow leaves. He could already feel the slight chill in the air, could smell the faint scent of frost on the breeze. It would only be a month or two before winter arrived, and it would be too cold to wash in the river. What was he supposed to do then? He was terrified of fire, and so would be unable to heat the water he would need for his bath. Also, people were far less likely to throw away decent goods during the winter months, which would make scavenging, even with the mirror, much more difficult. It was not so bad during the spring and the summer, people could afford to be rather wasteful, but winter could be a really harsh time of year, when people tended to be cautious and careful. Besides, it was only a matter of time until the X-Men or someone else located him within the Castle of Death. In the past few months Kurt had never walked near the castle, had always teleported there from a distance of at least a mile away in order to make tracking him difficult, but even so, sooner or later someone was bound to come looking in the old castle, asking awkward questions and wanting to find out what happened within the castle itself.

Kurt climbed out of the river; shook himself, then picked up the orange towel and dried himself off. Kurt dressed, and as he did so, touched the scar on his side, where Wolverine had injured him. He winced momentarily, and then examined the scar thoughtfully. There had been a very good reason for Wolverine wanting to injure him, and if the X-Men knew the truth, then they would be unlikely to want to hurt him again. Surely he could at least give Kitty a chance, give her the opportunity to show the X-Men what he had shown her, and let her borrow the magic mirror so that the X-Men could realise that he was telling the truth? Kurt smiled, and then nodded decisively to himself. Yes, he trusted that Kitty would do the right thing, and that she would show her friends that he was not a danger to anyone. A few days later, she would return to the Castle of Death to explain to him that the X-Men now liked him and wanted to meet with him. Then he would accompany her back to the X-Men Mansion, and maybe even join the X-Men themselves. Besides, he really liked Kitty, it could be just because he had been rather lonely for a very long time, but she seemed like the sort of person who would make a wonderful friend. She was fun to be around, had a great sense of humour, and was brave and incredibly beautiful. She reminded Kurt a little of Jimaine, except that he had feelings towards Kitty that he had never felt towards his adopted sister. These feelings were new to him, strange and slightly disturbing; they made his fur sort of tingle, but in a good way. He really wanted to get to know Kitty better, and in time become really good friends with her.

Kurt smiled as he looked around his garden. He would miss it, but it was obvious that he could not stay in the Castle of Death indefinitely, especially with winter slowly approaching. He would have to pick the remaining fruit and vegetables before he left, but that could wait for a day or two, since he had harvested most of the food the day before. He would also have to find a suitable place to bury the Romani magic curse, perhaps by the river, but that could also wait until later. Right now, he should really be returning to the castle so that he could use the mirror to see what the Brotherhood had been doing while he had been spending time with Kitty. He suspected that it was only a matter of time until the Brotherhood caused more trouble, which meant that he really needed to find out what they were planning to do.

Kurt teleported back to the Castle of Death, and then smiled when he saw that Kitty was already using the mirror. He saw himself within the mirror, aged eight, dressed in a cape made out of Margali's best table cloth. Stefan was dressed entirely in black robes that were much too big for him, and was waving his hands around enthusiastically, playing the villain of their game. Jimaine was dressed as a pirate, and was assisting Kurt in helping to defeat the evil sorcerer Stefarno. Both Kurt and Jimaine wore bandanas around their heads. Kurt pounced on Stefan, and a moment later, Jimaine did the same. Kurt grinned in triumph as Stefan pretended to fall to the ground, defeated. Kurt held his wooden sword high above his head, and grinned enthusiastically. "And so the mighty pirate Blue Tail defeats the evil sorcerer!"

Kurt laughed as he came up behind Kitty, and pointed towards the mirror. "I remember that day;" he said fondly, "Stefan always played the villain."

Kitty turned around to look at Kurt, and then smiled at him. "Didn't Stefan mind?" she asked.

Kurt shook his head. "I asked him once. He said that the villains always had the best lines. Plus, it gave him the opportunity to be really dramatic and enthusiastic. He always said that the heroes were too boring, and that he much preferred villains and tricksters."

Kitty laughed, and then hugged Kurt gently. "But you always wanted to be the hero," she said meaningfully, "and you're good at it too."

Kurt nodded, and returned the hug. He pointed to the mirror again. "Jimaine and I always teamed up against Stefan, but he never minded that we always won."

"It's a nice family," said Kitty sincerely, "I like learning about your past. Our lives have been very different."

"No," said Kurt sincerely, "not that different."

Kitty raised her eyebrows sceptically. "No?" she asked. "I grew up as an only child with my mother and father in a townhouse near here. You grew up with an adopted family in a Romani circus caravan. They're quite different."

Kurt shook his head, and smiled at Kitty. "But all that's just tent covering," he told her quietly.

Kitty gave him a confused look. "I don't understand," she admitted.

"Sorry," said Kurt, "it's a circus metaphor. It means superficial surface differences which are far less important than deeper, more fundamental similarities. For instance, in the circus, it didn't matter much whether we used the blue or the orange tent covering, as they were identical in all ways except for the colour. It was the frame, the structure of the tent that was the most important thing, rather than its colour."

"I'm still not sure that I understand," Kitty admitted.

Kurt took her hand in his, and smiled at her again. "Listen," he said, "our lives might have had certain differences, but those differences were far less important than the similarities between them. We both grew up with loving families, who might not have been perfect or have always made the right decisions, but always tried to do what they thought was best for us. We both had to leave these families when our powers manifested, and we both miss them," he stroked her hand gently, "you see, our childhoods were not that different."

"Tent covering," said Kitty thoughtfully, "I like the term. Maybe if more people realised that the differences between themselves and others were mere tent covering, the world would be a better place."

Kurt nodded, feeling suddenly grateful that she understood. "Our circus would travel all around Europe, and we would see different cultures and meet people who spoke different languages and had different customs. Yet, despite all of these differences, we soon realised that their similarities were much more important than their differences. Regardless of the culture, or the language the people spoke, they would still be awed by the same feats, would still laugh at the same things. Not to put too fine a point on it, just about everyone found a clown being hit in the face with a pie funny."

"Or you, performing on the high wire and the trapeze, they all found you impressive," Kitty added.

Kurt nodded, and then smiled at her shyly. "I just hope I can impress the X-Men as much as I impressed the crowds," he told her seriously.

Kitty grinned at him, looking up at him excitedly. "You mean you've decided to come back with me?" she asked hopefully. "You mean that you've decided to join the X-Men?"

"Maybe," said Kurt, "but you're right, I should at least give you the chance to show them what I've shown you. Then you can come back for me, and I'll accompany you to the X-Men Mansion. We'll see what happens from there."

Kitty grinned, and tightened her hug on his waist. "I knew you'd see sense," she whispered playfully in his ear.

"You were right," Kurt said, then winked at her, "besides, Little Nightcrawler wants to meet Lockheed. He thinks that they could become very good friends."

"I know they will," said Kitty happily.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Notes: Wow, 100 reviews! And such lovely comments from equally lovely people; I am very grateful that you have taken the time to read and review my humble effort with this story. Dragoncat – It's that obvious? There's still plenty of trouble waiting to happen, but I don't want to give away any more than that at this point****. ****Sweetheart14879 – that was intentional. There are constant little references to the comics all through this story, some obvious, others more subtle; that was one of the more subtle ones. I wanted Stefan to have a mild connection to the darkness because of his role within the comics. Besides, I can see Stefan wanting to play the villain, overacting dramatically, and thinking that the heroes were far too boring; I think he might have a point sometimes, too, as the villains can be the best thing in some creative works of fiction. ****Lilac Rose6 – I like happy endings too, especially for the protagonists. Hopefully you will not be disappointed, but it's a few more chapters before I finally finish writing this story.**

**While I have taken a certain amount of artistic licence with this story, I do try to do the research wherever possible. The collective nouns used for groups of various members of the ****Corvidae family (rooks, ravens, crows) are correct. Other collective nouns that can be used for rooks include **_**building**_**, **_**clamour**_** and **_**storytelling; **_**who says you can't learn anything from reading fanfictions? **

_Family_

Kitty was walking around the castle garden, arm in arm with Kurt. It was strangely comforting, walking beside him, as they chatted away happily; it seemed almost as if they had known each other their entire lives. Kitty could understand why Kurt liked the garden so much, and was reluctant to leave it, as it was a very beautiful place, surrounded by trees and a flowing waterfall. Kitty grinned as the fallen autumn leaves crunched beneath their feet, making a very satisfying sound. There was a slight chill to the air, but despite this, it was still a very nice afternoon, with the sun high in the clear blue sky, and birds singing in the trees. It had been a pleasant morning, spent talking to Kurt, and occasionally gathering fruit and vegetables from the garden. Kurt had advised Kitty to leave early tomorrow morning, after she had had a good night's sleep. He claimed that her arm would probably be fine, as he had removed the Romani magic curse from it, but he wanted her to stay for one more night, just to be sure. Kitty was secretly glad of his decision, as she liked spending time with Kurt, and did not want to leave him just yet, even if would be for only a couple of days. Kitty smiled as she watched Kurt suddenly scamper up an apple tree, pick a couple of apples, and throw them towards her. She caught them easily, and then turned her attention back to Kurt. She noticed that he was frowning, and looking rather worried. Kitty then noticed that Kurt was staring at three rather large black birds that were currently flying above the waterfall. Kitty pointed towards them. "Are you worried about those crows?" she asked him curiously.

Kurt jumped down from the tree, smiled sadly at Kitty, and then shook his head. "They're not crows," he said. "They're ravens."

Kitty could not tell the difference, but it was clear from the way Kurt spoke that he was thinking about something more important than birds. "You're thinking about another Raven, aren't you?" Kitty asked him sympathetically. "Raven Darkholme."

Kurt sighed, and then turned his attention back to the ravens. There was a rather awkward silence while he just stared at them for a minute or two. "I don't have any right to complain," he said at last, very quietly. "I had a good life with Margali and her two children." He turned and faced Kitty, and then gave her a rather weak smile. "It's odd, in the old stories, the step-mother is nearly always the villain, she's a really mean and cruel old woman who treats her step-child badly. Yet Margali was great with me. Oh, she could be strict sometimes, but she was never cruel or unfair. If anything, I'd say she treated me better than her own children."

Kitty smiled at Kurt, and hugged him. "I'm sure she made plenty of mistakes, just like everyone else," she told him comfortingly, "but you're right, from what I saw within the mirror, it seemed like she made a very good parent to all three of her children."

Kurt nodded thoughtfully. "And the older siblings in the old stories, they're always mean to the youngest child too," he said. "Yet Stefan and Jimaine were a great brother and sister towards me. Stefan teased me sometimes, and would annoy me by pulling my tail, but most of the time, he was a really great big brother. I looked up to him, wanted to be just like him. In many ways, he was everything I wanted to be; smart, charming, incredibly handsome, and very popular with the ladies."

Kitty gave a little laugh. "I think he taught you more than you realise," she said playfully.

Kurt gave her a shy smile. "Maybe," he said. "He did teach me some tricks, I must admit. Then there was Jimaine, she wasn't just my sister, but also my best friend," he grinned at Kitty, "and sometimes my partner in crime when we wanted to play jokes on the older ones. If anything, it was Jimaine and I who would team up together against Stefan, such as when we would work together to pelt him with snowballs during the winter months."

Kitty smiled at Kurt, and tightened her grip on his waist. "I always wanted a brother or a sister," she said wistfully, "it must have been wonderful to always have companions who were around your own age. Still, didn't Stefan mind that you and Jimaine would team up against him?"

Kurt shook his head. "Stefan was smart enough to know how to get revenge. When you live with witches, sorceresses and mutants, you soon learn some pretty cunning tricks if you are going to survive and thrive, and Stefan was the master of these. Stefan would tell us scary stories that would leave us terrified for days, or he would trick us out of sweets and other small treasures when we played cards together."

"How?" Kitty asked curiously.

Kurt laughed, and grinned at the memory. "It was a long time before I realised what he was doing," he admitted. "Stefan would always sit in the same place, which he claimed was his lucky chair. Then Jimaine and I would play cards with him, and Stefan would nearly always win. It was only years later that he admitted that he had placed a mirror over our heads at just the right angle so that he could see what cards we had, without it looking suspicious. It was no wonder that he nearly always won."

Kitty gave a little laugh. "Clever Stefan," she said, "I guess it's good that he never used his wits for anything worse than cheating you out of a few sweets."

"Yes," Kurt said seriously, "if he had wanted to, I'm sure he could have used his talents to be a lot more mean." He turned his attention back to where one of the ravens had landed on the ground, and was currently cawing loudly towards its companions. Kurt gave a huge sigh as he stared at the ravens wistfully. "It was a good life with them," he said quietly, "but still I wasn't satisfied. I wanted to know who my real parents were, wanted to try and find out about them and to try to find them. I had no right to be so ungrateful towards those who raised me and loved me as their own."

Kitty shook her head, and smiled at Kurt once more. "It wasn't like that," she told him gently, "I saw, within the mirror, saw that you were not ungrateful towards them, but just wanted to know who your biological parents were, which was a perfectly natural thing to want to find out."

Kurt sighed again, and watched as a second raven landed beside the first, and began to caw at it rather loudly. "Still, they didn't want me to find out about them, but I wanted to know anyway."

Kitty took Kurt's hand, and smiled at Kurt reassuringly. "The mirror only shows the truth," she reminded him quietly, "and what I saw within the mirror was people who did not want you to endanger yourself, and thought that you might hurt yourself if you tried to find out about your biological parents. It was just that your family didn't want you to be hurt, rather than them not wanting you to find out about your parents for any other reason. They just wanted to keep you safe and wanted to prevent anything bad from happening to you. I love them for that," she told him sincerely.

"Yes," Kurt agreed absently, "but in the end, they paid a terrible price for wanting to protect me. I wish I could stop feeling guilty about it all the time."

"Guilt's horrible," Kitty agreed gently, "but only good people feel guilt. Besides, everything that happened to your family was not your fault."

Kurt merely sighed, and watched as the third raven landed beside the other two, and began cleaning its wings. Kurt stared at it intently for a long moment, as though lost in thought. "Maybe," he said at last, "but then again, I was curious to find out about my biological parents, and my real family were killed partly because of that." He stared at the trio of ravens for a moment longer, as one of them took to the air and flew away. He watched it until it vanished from sight. "Then there's Raven Darkholme herself," he turned to Kitty, and gave her a sad smile, "it's not exactly pleasant to find out that your mother is a murderous bisexual blue mutant," he said quietly, then gave a little laugh, "not to mention your father."

"That bothers you?" Kitty asked quietly.

Kurt shrugged slightly. "Only the murderous part," he admitted, "the rest I don't really mind. At least, not much," he added.

Kitty was silent for a moment, and stared at where the remaining two ravens were cawing at each other rather loudly. "She could be lying, you know," Kitty said quietly, "I know that she lies sometimes, when it's in her best interest."

Kurt turned his attention to the waterfall, and stared at it thoughtfully. "No," he said, after a rather long pause, "I know she's not." He turned and looked at Kitty, a serious expression in his glowing yellow eyes. "We both share a rather unusual colouring, don't we?" he said, indicating himself. "Blue skin and yellow eyes are not exactly a common combination, even among mutants. Besides," he added, "why would she lie to me?" He shook his head sadly. "I know that she lies sometimes, but really, what could be the point of her telling me that I'm her son if I'm not? Why give me such a powerful magical artefact as the magic mirror if she's not related to me? Just to confuse and anger me? What would be the point, what would she gain from doing that? Why give something so powerful to just some random acrobat? Surely she could use the mirror much more effectively by asking it to show her information about someone who had much more power and influence than me." Kurt gave Kitty a sad smile. "But if I really am her son, then I guess it makes sense that she would have a vested interest in my wellbeing, so I guess it makes sense that I really must be her son."

"You've given this a great deal of thought," Kitty said quietly, "maybe you should use the mirror to find out for sure. I know Mystique said that if you did ask the mirror about her, the mirror's magic would stop, but she could be lying about that."

Kurt gave her another sad smile. "It would not surprise me if she is lying about the mirror's magic," he said quietly, "but I still don't want to risk it, after all, why risk losing such powerful magic just to try to find out about someone who I only met once anyway, even if I am her son? The mirror's magic is much too valuable to risk trying to find out something like that. Besides, Mystique said that it was for the best if we never met again. If that's how she feels, then I guess I should respect her wishes."

Kitty was silent a moment, as she considered Kurt's words carefully. "I guess so," she admitted quietly, after a long pause, "it's only natural for you to be curious about her, though," she added. "Also, don't you want to find out your exact date of birth? Surely she wouldn't mind telling you that, at least."

"Would it really make that much different if I continued to celebrate my birthday on the Fifteenth of November, or a few days earlier?" Kurt asked, then grinned at Kitty. "Besides, this way I'm always technically younger than I than I am." Kurt then turned towards the ravens, and stared at them wistfully for a long moment. "It's difficult, though," he admitted quietly, "what with Mystique being a shape-shifter. She could be anywhere, she could be anyone. She could even be one of those ravens, and could be watching us, even as I speak with you," he grinned at Kitty, then pointed towards her, "she could even be you," he added playfully.

"She isn't, I'm me," said Kitty, looking him directly in the eye, "and although I hate what Mystique has put you through, I can't hate Mystique herself, because she is a part of you."

Kurt looked down sadly. "I'm not sure how I feel about her," he admitted quietly, "I know she did some horrible things, but somehow, I just want to believe that she's not all bad. I'd like to think that she loved me once, but then I wonder if she ever loved anybody, if she is even able to love anybody." He tightened his grip on Kitty's hand, and looked up at Kitty, smiling her uncertainly. "I have so many questions," he admitted, "and almost no answers. Did she love her partner? Was I made in love, or was I merely the product of a meaningless night of passion?" There was frustration and no small amount of uncertainty in his tone of voice. "Why does it bother me so much?" he asked quietly.

Kitty smiled at him comfortingly. "It's normal to be curious about such things," she assured him, "especially in your case, with your rather unusual family history. I wish I could help you more, but all I know is what I saw within the mirror. It showed me that Mystique left you with Margali because Mystique knew that you would have a good life with her, or at least, a better life than you would have had if you had been raised by Mystique. I saw that Mystique left you alone so that you could grow up healthy and happy with Margali and her family. I saw that as long as you were more or less happy, Mystique left you alone, and that she did not contact you again until you were sad and alone, which was when she gave you the magic mirror." Kitty smiled at Kurt and stroked his cheek gently. "I think that's a sort of love," she told him quietly.

Kurt smiled at her. "I guess I never thought of it that way," he admitted.

"If you want, I will ask the mirror about Mystique," said Kitty quietly, "I was given no restrictions concerning how to use it, so we might be able to trick the magic if I ask it about Mystique instead of you asking it about her."

Kurt looked thoughtful for a moment, but then shook his head. "You're starting to think like Stefan," he told her playfully, "looking for loopholes and unexplored possibilities, trying to push the limit of what's possible. Thank you for the offer, but no," he told her quietly, but decisively, "it might work, but I don't want to risk losing such powerful magic if at all possible. Besides, Mystique did say that she did not want me to find out anything about her..." he paused, as though trying to remember her exact words, "questionable conduct, because she did not want me to hate her. I guess I can sort of understand why she felt that way," he admitted quietly.

Kitty smiled at Kurt, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Well, if you're sure," she said quietly, "I guess I can sort of see why she would feel that way too," she admitted.

"Yes," said Kurt, turning to look at the ravens just as they began to fly away, "besides, do you know what a group of ravens is called?"

Kitty was unsure, but seemed to remember hearing something about the topic a couple of years ago. "It's a murder, isn't it?" she asked quietly. "Or is it a parliament? I can't really remember," she admitted.

Kurt shook his head, and stared up at the waterfall, as the ravens flew off into the distance. "No," he said quietly, "it's a murder of crows, a parliament of rooks," he smiled sadly, as he turned his attention back to Kitty, "and an unkindness of ravens," he told her quietly. "I don't want to meet Raven Darkholme again," he admitted, "partly because I don't want to see how appropriate that term might be."

Kitty nodded slowly, understanding why Kurt would feel that way. "Perhaps it is for the best," she admitted quietly.

"Besides, my real family are Margali and her children, those who raised me and loved me as their own," said Kurt.

Kitty smiled at him warmly. "Family is where you are accepted and loved," she said, "some day, I would like you to meet my own family," she added.

Kurt smiled at her. "I'd like that too," he said, but then indicated himself, "but don't you think they'd mind that I'm blue and fuzzy?" he asked.

Kitty shook her head, and smiled at him reassuringly. "They might be a bit surprised at first," she admitted grudgingly, "but no, they would not mind, especially when they got to know the real you. I'm sure that they'd like you just the way you are," she looked down, suddenly feeling rather shy, "just as I do," she added.

Kurt smiled at her again, and then shyly kissed her on the cheek. "You and your family both have excellent taste," he told her playfully.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Notes: As always, thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you are still enjoying this. Hopefully this chapter will begin to answer some of your questions. ****Sweetheart14879 – I was initially going to write a sequel with Kurt and Kitty going on a quest, and Kurt finding out more about his parents as part of that quest, but for a number of reasons, I decided that this story works better without a sequel. I also intend to leave the issues regarding Kurt's parentage open, without tying up that particular plot thread. This is partly because I don't want to offend anyone, as gay rights activists might be offended if I make Kurt's parents heterosexual, whereas the far right might get offended if I make them homosexual (although, with Mystique being a shape-shifter, terms like heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual don't necessarily explain the complex nature of her relationships). There are some potential implications that some people might find offensive if I make it clear that Mystique is Kurt's father, since, according to some version of some religious traditions, sin is passed on via the male line. The implication of this is that Kurt was born without sin, and even though Kurt is a very sweet guy who is never intentionally cruel, he is certainly not a saint, in either the cartoon or this story. Therefore, I'll leave issues of Kurt's parentage open, and hopefully avoid offending anyone (in other words; I'm too much of a coward to do anything else).****Pointyearsrule – Thank you for pointing out yet another error, I just hope there aren't too many mistakes that I've missed. It can be really annoying reading an otherwise decent story that is nevertheless ruined by constant spelling, grammar and continuity mistakes, and although I do check over my story before I update, it's clear that I am not always as accurate as I would like to be. Hopefully there are not too many mistakes within the following chapter, and if there are, I would like to apologise in advance, and hope that they do not ruin your enjoyment of the story too much.****I'm glad that there are many features of this story that you like, and am always grateful for your reviews and constructive criticism.**

**Warning – Rather long and quite emotional chapter, with poor Kurt being tortured towards the end.**

_Uncertain Future_

Kurt smiled happily to himself as Kitty chatted away about her family, telling him all about her parents, and how much she was sure that they would like Kurt. He really wanted to meet Kitty's parents and get to know them, but it was obvious that there was a great deal that needed to be done before he could accompany Kitty back to her family home. He had to clear his name, and he had to make the X-Men and everyone else realise that he was not a threat to anyone, but rather a harmless acrobat who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then there was the Brotherhood; they would have to be dealt with in some manner, punished, maybe imprisoned, and in any case, made so that they could never hurt anyone, ever again. Then Kurt could spend time getting to know Kitty better, could try to understand these weird yet pleasant feelings he had whenever Kitty held his hand, laughed, or kissed his cheek. He really wanted to spend a great deal of time with Kitty, just to hear her laugh or see her smile.

"...So I'll show Xavier and all of the others the mirror," Kitty explained happily, "show them everything that you showed me. Then they'll know that you're good and that you never killed anyone. Then I can come back here, tell you what the X-Men said, and then you can accompany me back to the X-Men Mansion." She smiled at Kurt, and tightened her grip on his hand.

"Are you sure that you'll be able to find your way back here without any trouble?" Kurt asked, suddenly rather worried. "You don't want to travel alone on strange ground," he grinned at her mischievously, "you might get kidnapped by strange demons."

Kitty gave a little laugh. "I'll just follow the river from the town to the waterfall," she told him reassuringly, then pointed at Kurt playfully. "Besides, I think I can handle the strange demons," she said, "most of them are actually really friendly and nice, once you get to know them. I think they actually make really good friends."

"Well, if you have enough patience to listen to them and to give them a chance to talk, then I think you might be right," said Kurt, smiling at her happily, "they can make really good friends."

Kitty looked down, and blushed ever so slightly, suddenly appearing to be rather nervous. "And some of them," she said awkwardly, staring at her shoes, "the really nice ones, the really friendly ones, well, maybe, just maybe, after you get to know them for a long time and have been friends for months or even years, then just maybe," she looked up at Kurt shyly, her beautiful eyes shining, yet vulnerable, "maybe they could become, eventually, I don't know, maybe even more than just friends?" her voice was barely more than a whisper.

Kurt swallowed, smiled at Kitty, and somehow managed to avoid literally jumping up to the top of the nearest tree with joy. His fur tingled in that strange yet pleasant way it always did when he was very close to Kitty, and the almost unbelievable truth that she might feel the same way about him as he felt about her made him suddenly feel almost giddy with happiness. He imagined himself walking arm in arm with Kitty along a beach, soft sand under their feet, the sun gradually setting on the horizon, as he stared into Kitty's eyes. He could imagine himself kissing her as the waves crashed against the shore, and then they would return home, arm in arm, with hearts and minds full of each other, both oblivious to the trials and troubles of the outside world. Then Kurt would show her the world, take her to all the wonderful places he had visited while travelling with the circus, show her towns and forests and all the secret places where he used to play during his childhood. He would show her the Black Forest, a place of incredible beauty, of tall trees and numerous green plants, a place of fun and adventure. Of all the wonderous places that he had ever visited, it was still his favourite, and he was sure that Kitty would love it just as much as he did. Then he would show Kitty all of Europe and beyond; they would explore Africa and Asia, have adventures and create memories that they could tell their children and their grandchildren, who would listen with awe-struck wonder. It was a wonderful dream; but as Kurt stared back at Kitty, so beautiful, so clever, so brave, yet in some ways, so normal, he realised that his dream could never be more than just a dream. She deserved better, so much better than the life he could offer her. Even if he could clear his name, the fact remained that he was still blue and fuzzy, an obvious mutant in a world where mutants were at best grudgingly accepted. Kurt looked away from Kitty, and stared at the ground so that she could not see the tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "you have no idea how much I wish it could be otherwise, but I think that it's best if we're never more than friends."

"You...you do?" Kitty asked quietly, sounding disappointed. Did she even begin to realise how difficult this was for him? Did she know that she was offering him his heart's desire, did she realise how much he wanted to love Kitty in every sense of the word, how much he wanted her to be the centre of his entire world? Still, no matter how much it hurt, Kurt knew that he could never love Kitty as more than a friend, not unless he could somehow disguise his appearance.

Kurt looked up at Kitty, and smiled at her sadly. "It's not that I don't want to," he told her sincerely, "believe me, you are quite possibly the most amazing person that I've ever met, and I've met people from all over Europe and beyond. Anyone with any sense would want to hold on to you, to treasure you, to love you," he gave a little laugh, "it's obvious that Lance has no sense," he said.

"You...you would not even consider...?" Kitty asked quietly.

Kurt shook his head. This was quite possibly one of the hardest conversations he had ever had, but he knew that it was necessary. "I would not want you to hate me," he told her quietly.

"I could never hate you," Kitty told him sincerely.

Kurt gave her an amused look. "No? You did only a few days ago," he told her meaningfully.

Kitty shook her head. "No, it was the Demon of Bayville I hated, the monster that's been hunting and killing people. Now it's the Brotherhood that I hate," she said sincerely, "not you, I could never hate you, not now that I've had the chance to get to know the wonderful, funny, charming person that you really are."

Kurt looked down at his feet. Was Kitty trying to make this as difficult as possible? No, she was not cruel; she just did not know how hard this was for him. "But you would end up hating me eventually," he told her gently, "if we were to ever have a romantic relationship. Look at me, I'm blue, I'm fuzzy, I have a tail. Even if I was not wanted for numerous murders, what chance would I have to go out in public places?" Kurt looked up at Kitty, and gave her a sad smile. "At least, any other night except for Halloween? In time, you would come to resent it, and who could blame you?" Kurt let go of Kitty's hand, and stroked her cheek gently. "Listen, within the circus, people are in a sense allowed to be a bit weird, a bit strange, it's almost expected that they will be rather quirky, but outside of it, people tend to be a lot less tolerant of those who are different. You deserve better than I can give you, however much I would like it to be otherwise. You deserve the world, you should be able to go to fancy restaurants and hotels, to dance the night away at fancy balls, and you certainly do not deserve to be stared at because you are in the company of a freak," he looked down, feeling as though his heart was shattering into a thousand pieces, "you deserve better than a partner who looks like a monster."

"I don't care about what other people think," Kitty told him sincerely, "I care about you."

"But you deserve it all," Kurt told her sadly. "Look me in the eye and then tell me that you don't want all of these things."

There was an awkward pause for a minute or two, in which Kurt wondered if Kitty would be able to meet his challenge, but inevitably Kitty was not able to look Kurt in the eye. She looked down at her shoes instead, and shook her head sadly. "You must think I'm really shallow," she said, sounding close to tears.

"No," Kurt assured her, "not at all, I think you just want a normal life. You deserve the chance to have a normal life, although being a mutant means that your life might never be as normal as you might have hoped." Kurt smiled at her as she looked up at him, and then he indicated himself. "But it's obvious that I can never have a normal life, and if I were to become more than friends with you, then you would also be unlikely to be able to have a normal life," Kurt sighed. "You might not mind at first, but eventually you would come to resent what I had denied you, the chances I had taken from you, and then you would come to resent me, in time maybe even hate me," Kurt wondered if this could possibly get any harder, "I could not stand that, could not stand the thought that you might come to hate me, so let's agree to just be friends. Good friends, maybe in time even best friends, but nothing more. I'd prefer that, than to ever earn your hate."

Kitty smiled at him, and blinked away the tears in her eyes. "You know, that's a really nice way of saying that you're not interested," she told him, "which still leaves me feeling important and valued. I guess I can agree to be no more than friends, if that's what you want," she sounded as if she was trying to be strong and brave, despite feeling really disappointed.

Kurt smiled back at Kitty reassuringly. He was doing the right thing, wasn't he? Kitty deserved so much more than he could ever give to her, and in time she would surely meet someone who was everything that she deserved, and she would fall in love with him. Then it would have to be enough for Kurt to know that Kitty at least thought of him as a friend, as after all, how could someone who looked like him possibly have the right to want more than that? Kurt stared at Kitty for a long moment, and felt his heart ache when he realised that Kitty was close to tears. He decided that he had better find some way to cheer her up, so he took three apples out of their basket, and began to juggle them. He smiled when he realised that Kitty was smiling, and watching him with fascination, as he continued to juggle. "Throw me some more," he told her, "nine's my limit, but I've been meaning to try for ten for a while now."

Kitty giggled and threw him a couple more apples, which he juggled high in the air along with the others. "Is it hard?" she asked, throwing him another apple.

Kurt continued to juggle as Kitty gradually added more and more apples. "At first," he said, "like anything, it takes a while to learn how to do it well."

"I guess anything worth doing takes time and practice," Kitty said quietly, as she threw him another apple.

Kurt nodded, and almost dropped one of the apples, only to catch it with his tail. "Try doing this while walking the tightrope," he said playfully, "and rather than use apples, use swords."

"That must have been quite difficult," Kitty agreed, throwing him another apple.

Kurt nodded. "At first," he told her, and then laughed as he dropped all but two of the apples, one landing right on top of his head.

"I hope you did not do that with swords," Kitty said, laughing as Kurt grabbed the apple from the top of his head, wiped it on his shirt, and took a bite out of it.

Kurt smiled at her, glad to see that she was smiling again, a genuine smile, not the sad excuse for a smile he had seen earlier. "No, I never juggled more than six swords," he said, handing Kitty one of the apples.

She accepted the apple gratefully, and took a rather small bite out of it. Kurt watched her for a moment, and then suddenly shook his head. "Wait, swords," he said. How could he have forgotten something so important? "I'll get you your katana and other weapons, there's no point waiting until morning to prepare for your journey back to the X-Men."

Kitty took another bite out of her apple, and nodded. "Besides, it's starting to get dark here," she said, staring at where the sun was beginning to set behind the pine trees, "and chilly," she added.

Kurt winked at her. "Then join me back inside the castle," he said, "if you're really lucky, I might even show you how to juggle six swords." Then he teleported inside the castle, and a moment later, Kitty phased through the wall to join him. Kurt led her up the stairs to the room adjacent his bedroom, where he kept all of the weapons he had managed to acquire. Kurt handed Kitty her katana, her knives and her bow and arrows, which she accepted gratefully. Kurt then grinned at Kitty, picked up the six nearest foils that he had stolen from the Brotherhood, and began to juggle them.

Kitty watched with amusement as Kurt pretended to drop a sword, only to catch it with his tail. "So, not only can just about anything be a weapon," she said quietly, "but even weapons can be changed into harmless tools which can be used to entertain others."

Kurt nodded as he continued to juggle the swords. "I'll teach you if you like," he said, "it's quite easy when you get used to it."

Kitty smiled at him. "I'd like that," she told him sincerely, "but not with swords, and not here, not where there's so many sharp weapons, I don't want either of us to get hurt."

Kurt caught the swords with his hands and his tail, and then nodded at Kitty understandingly. "With apples then," he suggested, "in the bedroom. Let's entertain Little Nightcrawler, he must be getting lonely all by himself.

Kitty gave a little laugh. "Poor Little Nightcrawler," she said playfully, "he must be lonely, let's go and give him some company."

Kurt nodded, and then teleported to the bedroom. A moment later, Kitty followed him by phasing through the wall. Kurt grinned at her, and threw her an apple. "Now, throw it high with one hand, and catch it with your other hand," he nodded approvingly as Kitty threw the apple high in the air with her right hand, and then caught it with her left hand, "and back again, just keep doing that for a bit," he said.

Kitty threw the apple high in the air, caught it with her right hand, and then threw it back to her left hand again. "This is easy," she said, throwing the apple high in the air again.

Kurt grinned and grabbed three apples, which he began to juggle using only one hand. "Wait until you try juggling six or more, then you'll see that it can be quite challenging," he said. "Are you ready to try another apple yet?"

Kitty nodded, and Kurt threw her another apple. "Now, carry on doing what you were doing before, but with both apples at the same time. Keep throwing them quite high, as it will make it easier when I add more," he said.

Kitty smiled as she tried to juggle both apples at once, but dropped one of the apples on the floor. Kurt laughed. "See, not so easy when there's more than one, is it?" he asked her, grinning at her playfully. "Don't worry; it took me a long time to learn how to do it. Watch me." He juggled two apples as slowly as he could, while Kitty watched him intently.

"Right, I can do this," said Kitty determinedly, throwing the apples high in the air, and catching one of them with her right hand. The other landed on her foot.

Kurt giggled as he watched her. "I think it will be a while before you can move on to using swords," he told her, giving her an encouraging grin, "don't worry, just keep practicing."

Kurt spent the next hour or two watching Kitty practicing her juggling, watching as she gradually improved until she was able to juggle two apples without too much trouble. Kurt grinned at her with no small amount of pride as she threw the apples high in the air, and managed to catch both of them most of the time. "You are a very good student," he told her sincerely. Unfortunately, she dropped both apples when he said that. Kurt merely shrugged. "Most of the time," he added.

Kitty did not seem to even hear him, as she was staring out of the window. Her face had suddenly become very pale. Kurt moved over to her quickly. "What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

Kitty pointed out of the window. "Lights," she said quietly, "torches."

Kurt frowned, and then moved towards the window. He stared in horror at what he saw. There must have been a hundred or more flaming torches, moving towards the castle very quickly. Kurt narrowed his eyes, and saw that the torches were being carried by the townsfolk, who were yelling at each other, and claiming that they were going to stop the Demon of Bayville. Kurt swallowed, and shook his head in disbelief. The townsfolk did not know that he was here, how could they know that he was within the castle? He never walked near the castle, he always teleported from a distance of at least a mile away, and yet the angry mob were clearly making their way towards the castle, as though they knew that he was located within it. "How?" Kurt asked, suddenly feeling a sort of panicked sickness in his stomach.

Kitty shook her head. "I don't know," she told him quietly.

Kurt swallowed again, and then looked down at his feet. He saw the Romani magic curse that he had removed from Kitty's arm, and saw that it had begun to glow. He looked up at Kitty, realisation hitting him with the force of a magic spell. "Romani magic," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "they must have been able to trace this Romani magic curse. Maybe that's what it was for all along."

Kitty stared at the glowing Romani magic curse, and seemed to be suddenly afraid. "But why would they?" she asked quietly. "I mean, the Brotherhood actually want to protect you, to keep you safe. Why would they try to trace you using Romani magic?"

Kurt shook his head, still feeling panicked and sick. "Does it matter why?" he asked, and noticed that he sounded ever so slightly hysterical. "Maybe they changed their minds. Maybe the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants got drunk one night and boasted that they had attacked me with my own magic, and the townsfolk figured out a way to use that magic to locate me. Maybe Lance got jealous and thought that I had kidnapped you away from him, and so decided that he wanted revenge. Does it matter why?" he demanded again, his tone panicked and terrified. Kurt stared at the Romani magic curse a moment longer. Why had he not buried it earlier? Why had he just left it there and ignored it? Kurt shook his head, trying to clear it, and then stared out of the window once more. The mob was close enough now that he could make out some of the Brotherhood members near the front of the angry crowd. The Brotherhood members were holding their flaming torches aloft, and calling out for Kurt's demise.

"But we're safe as long as we just stay in here, right?" Kitty asked, sounding rather panicked. "I mean, Stefan said that you couldn't enter the Castle of Death using normal means, so they can't enter the castle unless they can teleport or phase or something, right?" she asked hopefully.

Kurt shook his head, unable to think clearly. "I don't know!" he admitted. "Stefan was always playing jokes and telling scary stories, always teasing Jimaine and me, he could have been teasing me about that. The only reason I always teleported in here was to avoid leaving tracks, so that I could not be traced."

Kitty bit her lip, and stared at the glowing Romani curse. "It does not matter," she said after a rather long pause. "If the worst comes to the worst, we can just teleport a couple of miles away, so they can't find us."

Kurt closed his eyes, feeling close to tears. He had spent a lot of time and effort transforming the Castle of Death from an abandoned old castle into a liveable place where he could be quite comfortable, but Kitty was right, it was, after all, just a place. He had been planning on leaving there soon anyway, so it did not really matter that he would have to leave it all behind. He just felt sad that he would not have an opportunity to prepare, to bid a fond farewell to the garden and the river, and to pack supplies and rations. He smiled at Kitty. "You are right," he told her, "we just have to get away from the angry mob, that's all."

He stared out of the window once more. The crowd were practically by the castle, and were yelling at each other, calling for the head of the Demon of Bayville. As Kurt looked down, a couple of very young children suddenly ran in front of the angry mob. The crowd were too intent on wanting their revenge to even notice the toddlers, and it was obvious that they would not survive unless someone intervened quickly. "Those children, they'll be crushed!" Kurt told Kitty, and then teleported down, grabbed the children quickly just as the crowd were about to crush them, and then looked up at approximately one hundred angry faces that were all glaring at him. He let go of the children without a word, and watched as they ran away from him, both clearly oblivious that they had just come very close to death. Unfortunately, Kurt did not feel the same way. He stared up at the angry mob, petrified with fear as he stared at the flaming torches. His brain kept telling him to teleport, to run away, to climb up the walls, or at the very least to try and explain his innocence, but Kurt was too terrified with fear to be able to do anything except stare at the flaming torches, as they came closer towards him. He could not even attempt to resist as he felt himself being tied to a stake and felt the mob setting light to a fire below him. Instead he just continued to stare mutely at the flames. Kurt had long ago accepted that he would not have a long life, that it was only a matter of time until he made a deadly mistake, but he had expected to at least reach seventeen. That suddenly seemed very unlikely, as he felt the flames lick at his feet and begin to singe his fur. He had escaped from death twice already, once during infancy, and then when he had developed his mutant ability, when the circus had burnt to the ground. It did not look like he would survive this, however, as he stared, frozen with fear, at the flames. At least he had managed to save the children; they would be safe, which meant that his death would not be a completely stupid sacrifice. Kurt found himself unable to do or say anything as the flames continued to burn his fur. What was the point of all of his wonderful abilities if they could not save him from something like this? Still, it did not matter; there was nothing more he could do, and it looked like he would be joining Jimaine, Stefan and the other members of his circus family far sooner than he had initially imagined.


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Notes:****As always, thanks for the reviews. ****I can understand that there's a certain amount of disagreement concerning the change of pace from fluffy romance to sudden torture and fear within the last chapter. I'm trying to give this story just the right amount of action/drama/adventure/fluff/romance and humour, which invariably will mean that some readers might think that there is not enough/too much action/drama/adventure/fluff/romance and/or humour; it's a difficult balance to get right, but I think it does fit the style of this story, giving it momentum for the climax. ****Yellow-eyed-wonder – why hasn't Kitty saved Kurt yet? It's because of her powers and the way in which the castle is built. Remember that while Kurt is able to teleport almost instantaneously, it takes longer for Kitty to phase through the castle. Also, they were at the top of the castle, so even running at her fastest, it will take Kitty a minute or two to reach the ground level of the castle and help Kurt. I can tell you from experience that climbing up and down the steps of ancient European castles can take time and effort, as these were generally designed to deter invaders and slow down armies. Also, the last chapter was told from Kurt's point of view, and so Kurt's perception of time might not be accurate, due to him being terrified and not necessarily perceiving time or events in an objective manner. As for your comments about what will possibly happen in the last few chapters of this story, have you somehow been reading my notebook? You're very close, except that they don't have image inducers in this world (but they do have magical equivalents). ****Pointyearsrule – while Kurt certainly does have self-esteem issues, he also has a valid point, in that, looking the way he does, his chance of having something approaching a 'normal' life is very low (remember, he doesn't have an image inducer or equivalent at this point) which would mean that anyone having a romantic relationship with him would also be unlikely to have a normal life, which could realistically lead to some degree of resentment later. **

**Now, time for Kitty to rescue Kurt ;).**

_Kurt's Saviour_

"Kurt, you idiot!" Kitty yelled as she grabbed the magic mirror and raced towards the stairs as fast as she could. She ran down the stairs and phased through the walls without stopping to catch her breath, desperate to reach Kurt before something horrible happened to him. She phased through the castle wall, and was almost knocked back by the heat of the fire, as she stared in horror at where Kurt was tied to a stake on top of a bonfire, the flames licking at his feet. Kurt was not moving and it was obvious that he was petrified with fear, and so unable to do anything other than just stare at the mob. He was clearly unable to move or to teleport, or to do anything to try to save himself, but at least he did not appear to be seriously injured. Kitty phased through the fire, grabbed Kurt's hand, and kept them both phased, so that the fire could not harm either of them. Kitty held the magic mirror high above her head with her other hand. "Stop!" she yelledat the rather astonished crowd. "You are all making a terrible mistake!"

There was a certain amount of confusion from the front of the crowd, as many of the townsfolk stared at Kitty in disbelief. It appeared that she had quite literally walked through the wall of the castle, and was now standing, apparently unharmed, in the middle of the fire, holding hands with the demon and calling out to the crowd to listen to her. "Look!" shouted one of the townsfolk. "It's Ms Pryde, she's alive!"

Many of the townsfolk turned towards Kitty, who tightened her grip on Kurt's hand in order to ensure that he was still phased and therefore unharmed. "Of course I'm alive!" she told the crowd, rather more irritably than she had initially intended. "I'm alive and well, thanks to him," she pointed at Kurt using the mirror.

Kitty could hear a fair amount of uncertain mumbling from amongst the crowd, and the mob seemed to be suddenly rather unsure about what they should do for the best. Kitty watched them for a moment, before indicating Kurt again. "He never hurt me," she yelled at the confused mob, "or anyone else, he is completely innocent of all accusations, and I can prove it." She waved the mirror high in the air, and nodded towards it. "See this?" she asked the crowd. "It shows only the truth. It can show you anything you want, scenes from the recent or distant past, or events that are happening even as we speak. I've used it, and I've seen that he never harmed anyone," she indicated Kurt once more.

Once again, there was a lot of uncertain murmuring amongst the crowd, and it seemed as if the mob had suddenly become was very confused, as the townsfolk quickly began talking and arguing amongst themselves. Kitty turned to Kurt, and smiled at him, shaking her head sadly. "Why didn't you just teleport to safety?" she demanded quietly.

Kurt merely stared at her, and it was obvious that he was too terrified with fear to be able to do anything else. Of course, Kurt had a terrible fear of fire, to the point where he could not stand to be in the same room as a lit candle or a cooking fire, so it was no wonder that he was petrified and unable to defend himself when facing an angry mob desperate to burn him to death. This was perfectly understandable considering that he had already lost his entire family and very nearly his own life in a fire several months ago, when his mutant powers had first manifested, but it was a shame that he seemed to be completely unable to even try to explain his innocence, let alone try to escape. Kitty turned her attention back to the confused crowd, and indicated the mirror once more. "Watch," she yelled as loudly as she could, so that everyone present would be able to hear her, "the mirror shows nothing but the truth." She addressed the mirror directly, "Show them everything that you showed me," she instructed it, and a moment later, there was a flash of light, and the crowd were watching the mirror in confusion, as it showed Kurt's life in the circus, the circus burning down, Kurt taking refuge within the castle, and Kurt meeting Mystique. The crowd seemed to be unsure of the reliability of the mirror's magic, so Kitty handed the mirror to one of the men at the front of the mob, and told him to tell it to show him events that Kitty could not possibly have witnessed, to show him scenes from his childhood, and his friends and family, to show him anything that would convince him that the mirror's magic was real. Although initially sceptical, the man did as she asked, and eventually seemed to be convinced that the mirror was indeed a reliable magical artefact. The mirror then returned to showing him and the other members of the crowd scenes from Kurt's past. It showed Kurt meeting the Brotherhood, and the Brotherhood attacking and killing a number of unwary travellers. It showed the Brotherhood trying to blame Kurt for their misdeeds, and Kurt doing his best to thwart their plans, using the magic mirror and his teleportation ability to intercept the Brotherhood members wherever possible. The crowd watched with interest, and then anger, as they saw exactly what the Brotherhood had been doing in the last few months. The crowd, still angry and wanting revenge, suddenly turned their attention towards the members of the Brotherhood within their ranks, and glared at them with unforgiving eyes. Kitty would have almost felt sorry for the Brotherhood, were it not for the fact that they had killed so many innocent people, and had been part of the mob that wanted to burn Kurt to death, despite being completely aware of his innocence. As it was, she felt a surprising amount of malicious satisfaction when she saw the Brotherhood standing there, looking terrified as the truth was finally revealed.

"Got to go, bye!" said Pietro suddenly, and then ran away as fast as he could, closely followed by the other members of the Brotherhood. A moment later, the angry mob were chasing after them, yelling that they would have their revenge, and holding their flaming torches high above their heads. Kitty smiled in a sort of grim satisfaction. The crowd looked like they would be able to get their revenge after all, and the Brotherhood would get exactly what they deserved.

Kitty phased Kurt out of the fire and close to the castle, and watched as the crowd slowly vanished into the distance. She smiled at Kurt, and then examined him carefully. It seemed that his wounds were not nearly as severe as she had expected, but he still seemed petrified with fear as he watched the fire slowly dying until it finally burnt itself out. It was only when the fire was nothing but smouldering ashes that Kurt was finally able to look at Kitty, and give her a very small smile. "What sort of idiot thinks to bring his children to a public demon-burning event, anyway?" he demanded irritably.

Kitty gave a sigh of relief. If Kurt was attempting to make jokes, even really bad and unfunny jokes, that meant that he could not have been too seriously harmed. She smiled at him again. "The same idiots who thought that you were the Demon of Bayville, and responsible for all those murders, even though you never hurt anyone," she told him quietly.

Kurt gave a huge sigh, and examined his feet and tail. They appeared to be slightly charred, but not seriously burnt. Kurt looked up, and stared at where the torch lights from the angry mob were slowly vanishing into the distance. "At least the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants will finally get what they deserve," he said.

Kitty nodded her agreement. "Still, to be fair, I think it was only Quicksilver and Lance who were truly evil," she admitted, "I think the rest of them followed them more or less because they were afraid of what would happen to them if they didn't."

Kurt gave her a sad smile. "I think I might feel more inclined to be charitable towards them if I had not nearly been burnt to death," he said, "for the second time," he added.

"I can understand why you feel that way," said Kitty sincerely, "still, if you had only thought before acting, you could have avoided all of this. Why didn't you just grab the mirror before you teleported down to save those children?" she asked.

Kurt sighed. "Because I'm an impetuous fool who doesn't think before acting," he admitted. "I just saw that they were in danger, and so teleported down to get them out of danger. I guess I didn't even think about the mirror," he said.

Kitty smiled at him lovingly. Of course, Kurt would not be Kurt if he had left an innocent to die, and there could be no doubt that his impetuous if admittedly rather short-sighted nature had probably saved dozens of lives. "And I love you for it," she told him sincerely.

"Thank you," said Kurt, "and thank you for saving my life," he added.

"Hey, I didn't want to be in your debt any longer," Kitty told him playfully, "that meant that I had to save your life, just so that I could even the score."

"Friends don't keep score," Kurt told her sincerely.

"Yes," Kitty agreed, "friends don't keep score."

Kurt gave a little laugh. "Still, I am grateful that you saved me," he said, "upon that fire, I just couldn't do anything, couldn't move, couldn't teleport, couldn't even talk, it was terrifying," he shook his head, "yes, I can see the irony of being frozen with fear while being nearly burnt to death, you don't have to point it out to me."

Kitty giggled. She then examined Kurt carefully again, and smiled at him reassuringly. "I think you will be fine," she told him, "but I also think that we should get you inside the castle, just in case that angry mob change their mind and decide to come back here."

Kurt nodded enthusiastically. "You know," he said, "I am really starting to get tired of people trying to kill me! It was sort of interesting the first dozen times or so, but now it's beginning to get rather repetitive."

"All the more reason to get you to the X-Men," Kitty told him. "That way we can ensure that this is the last time."

Kurt shook his head, and pointed at where the angry mob were now nothing more than tiny points of light that were slowly vanishing behind a hill. "It's gone," he said sadly.

Kitty gave him a wry smile. "Missing them already?" she asked playfully.

"No," said Kurt, "but they ran off with my magic mirror, and I'm missing my mirror," he explained.

Kitty grinned at him. "Sorry Fuzzy, I was kind of busy trying to save your life and so I couldn't be worried too much about what happened to the mirror," she explained, just a little sharply, "I had much more important things to worry about."

Kurt looked down at his feet. "I know," he said quietly, "and believe me, I am very grateful," he told her sincerely, "but we needed the mirror to show the X-Men that I was innocent. Without it, we will have to change our plans."

Kitty nodded thoughtfully. It would be practically impossible to get the mirror back now, and Kurt was correct, convincing the X-Men of his innocence would be significantly harder without its magic. Still, she was determined to ensure that the X-Men did accept Kurt, and the loss of the mirror merely meant that this might take rather longer than she had originally assumed. "Modify our plans maybe, but not change them," she said.

Kurt gave her an uncertain look, and Kitty smiled at him reassuringly. She was not sure exactly what they were going to do now to convince the X-Men of Kurt's innocence, but they could discuss their options later. "Don't worry Fuzzy, we'll think of something," she assured him, "but right now, I want to get you inside the castle, and tend to your wounds to ensure that you are not seriously hurt."

Kurt gave her a wry smile. "Isn't this how we met?" he asked. "Except that our roles were reversed?"

Kitty gave a little laugh, and stroked Kurt gently on the cheek. "I do believe you might be right," she said, "and I am very glad we did meet," she told him sincerely.

Kurt nodded. "So am I," he said.


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Notes: As always, thanks for the reviews. People have been asking me why the Professor does not simply read the minds of the Brotherhood and Kurt, and the answer is simply that he does not generally scan the minds of people because he does not want to invade their privacy, and so will not scan others' thoughts unless he has been given clear permission to do so. He sees scanning others' thoughts as a betrayal of trust and therefore, so as long as people do not lie when talking to him, and he does not detect any deception in their words, he won't scan their minds, as he is well aware that even normal teenagers will doubtlessly have thoughts that they most certainly do **_**not **_**want to share. He would also probably not particularly want to witness these thoughts anyway, as he is well aware that teenage boys can have some very graphic thoughts that should certainly come with a content warning. As for why he does not scan Kurt's thoughts, right now he does not know where Kurt is, and he is convinced that Kurt is a demon, so is not even sure if he can read his thoughts anyway. It's not really a priority for him, anyway, he just wants to stop the murders, and is under the mistaken impression that stopping Kurt will be a way to achieve this end. ****Dragoncat – catching Quicksilver might be difficult, but the mob now have a very powerful magical artefact that they can use to locate him and the other members of the Brotherhood, which means that Quicksilver might be able to run, but he can't exactly hide from them forever; sooner or later he's bound to make a mistake, he is, after all, only human.** **Sweetheart14879 – Kurt's still not convinced that he won't just burst into flames upon entering the X-Man Mansion, and is understandably reluctant to find this out.****Kibacoe – Glad you are enjoying my humble attempt at writing. I wouldn't kill Kurt after putting the poor guy through so much, I felt bad enough about killing Tabitha, even though that was kind of necessary for the story to work.**

**Hope that clears up any confusion. Now on with the tale.**

_The Way Home_

Kurt and Kitty had returned to the castle, where they had discussed their options, while feasting upon the fruit and vegetables that they had gathered from the castle gardens. It seemed obvious that they could not stay at the castle indefinitely now that the townsfolk knew that Kurt had been hiding there, as it was clearly only a matter of time until a fanatic maniac, convinced beyond all reason that Kurt was some sort of murderous demon, would come hunting Kurt with the intention of killing him. Kitty had told Kurt that his best option was to go to the X-Men Mansion with her, where she could explain everything to Xavier, who would be bound to be willing to help him once he knew the truth. Kurt had reluctantly agreed, but had said that he did not feel ready to teleport very far after being nearly burnt at the stake. Kitty suspected that his experience with the angry mob had affected him far worse than he cared to admit, and that he was still suffering from the stress of his ordeal. After a long conversation, Kitty had eventually agreed that they could return to the X-Men Mansion on foot, as long as they travelled at night, in order to avoid any unnecessary confrontation or unwelcome questions. Kitty suspected that Kurt was still secretly worried that he would burst into flames the instant that he entered the X-Men Mansion, and so wanted to avoid entering the Mansion for as long as possible. Kitty was almost certain that nothing bad would happen to Kurt once he entered the Mansion, and had assured Kurt that even if he did burst into flames, she would just phase him through the flames, so he would be in no serious danger either way. Kurt had eventually nodded in agreement, but he still seemed understandably reluctant to find out for certain whether or not it was really safe for him to enter the Mansion.

Kitty tightened her cloak around her shoulders, and hid her weapons under her cloak. Kurt had decided to leave his swords and other weapons in the castle, as he reasoned that he certainly did not want anyone they might meet to assume that he was an armed and dangerous demon, and therefore a serious threat. Besides, Kurt only knew some very basic fencing skills, and had never actually used swords or any other weapons in a serious fight. His teleportation ability and his incredible agility were, in any case, far more impressive skills, and Kurt intended to rely on those if necessary in order to get himself out of trouble.

As Kurt and Kitty left the Castle of Death, Kitty noticed that Kurt seemed to almost blend into the shadows, and to become practically invisible, as he led her along the path beside the river that led into the town. The full moon was high in the sky, and casting slightly eerie shadows in the darkness, but Kitty was glad of this. If there were numerous strange shadows being created by the light of the full moon, that meant that it was likely that anyone who managed to catch a glimpse of Kurt would assume that he was nothing more than a trick of the light, and this would help to ensure that they could avoid any potentially awkward and unnecessary confrontations.

Kitty and Kurt had not been travelling for more than a few minutes when Kitty began to feel uneasy, as though she was being watched. She tightened her grip on Kurt's hand, ready to phase them both out of trouble if necessary, and then jumped in shock when she suddenly heard some eerie howling. Kurt smiled at her reassuringly. "It's just wolves," he said, "they live on the mountains. If you leave them alone, they will generally respond in kind."

Kitty gave him a small smile, but jumped again when she heard the wolves howling again, definitely closer this time. She turned around, trying not to panic, as she thought she caught a glimpse of a wolf following them, its yellow eyes gleaming momentarily in the light of the moon. "Are you sure?" she asked in a loud whisper.

Kurt gave her a slightly confused look, and then sniffed the air. For the first time, he suddenly seemed rather uncertain. "Let's find out for sure," he whispered, and pointed to the nearest tree, "from the top of that tree."

Kitty nodded, and Kurt helped her to climb to the top of the tree. From there, Kurt stared in confusion as a small pack of eight wolves came running towards them. Kitty had never seen a wolf this close before, but from what she had read about wolves, it seemed that this pack was slightly larger and a lot more ferocious than the wolf packs she had read about in her old books. She pointed at the wolf pack, and whispered to Kurt, "Healthy wolves don't attack people, do they?"

Kurt shook his head, still staring at the wolves in confusion. "A rabid wolf might. It's very unusual for a whole pack of wolves to be this close to civilization," he said uncertainly.

"Are they rabid?" Kitty asked, still watching them worriedly.

Kurt stared at the pack for a long moment, squinted just to make sure, and then shook his head in confusion. "No, but I think they might still be sort of sick," he said. Then to Kitty's astonishment, Kurt teleported down right in front of the wolf pack. The wolves sniffed at Kurt, clearly confused by the sulphuric scent of his teleportation, and stared at him with confusion and uncertainty in their gleaming yellow eyes. Kurt turned his attention to the largest wolf, and looked it directly in the eye. Kurt then gently gripped its muzzle, before giving the creature a very small smile. "I thought so," he said, after a rather long and awkward pause, "you know me, I know you, even though we were both very much younger when we met before."

The wolf whined in confusion, but Kurt simply continued to stare into its golden eyes, a determined look in his own eyes. The wolf seemed to recognise that its challenge for leadership had been accepted, and snapped suddenly at Kurt's hand. Kurt merely bared his fangs in retaliation, and then growled at the wolf in a menacing manner. Kurt continued to stare directly at the wolf, maintaining a demeanour of authority and certainty in his own power and ability. The wolf whined again, as though unsure. Kurt smiled at it sadly, but kept staring directly into its eyes. "I was only days old when we met before," he said quietly, "and you had all the strength of youth. Now I have all the strength of youth, and you are old. I doubt that the pack will let you be their leader much longer." He turned around momentarily, and examined the rest of the wolf pack. The pack understood that Kurt had answered a challenge for leadership, and they knew that they were not to get involved in this challenge. They simply watched the challenge take place, and were content to wait and see what the outcome of this confrontation might be. Kurt turned his attention back to the largest wolf again. "What was done to you, it extended your life, but not by much," he told the wolf sadly, "I doubt that you have many years left, and I doubt very much that you will be Alpha Wolf come spring."

The wolf whined once more, as though unsure of Kurt's comment. Kurt shook his head, and smiled sadly at the wolf once more. "But you're not Pack Alpha, are you?" he said, as though suddenly realising something very important, "Quicksilver and his family were Pack Alpha, you are merely Pack Second, and without Pack Alpha, the whole pack doesn't know what to do or where to go," he looked at the wolf with a great deal of pity in his yellow eyes, "you poor thing."

The wolf whined again, and then lowered its head in an act of submission. Kurt smiled at it sadly again. "Yes, that's right, you see a second generation mutant as Pack Alpha, and see that I'm a second generation mutant, so think that I must be Pack Alpha. Listen, what was done to you, was done to me too." He indicated his own body, as the wolf watched him with confusion in its yellow eyes. Kurt nodded sadly. "I was changed, just like you, given a new shape and new agility, given lots of new abilities, but unlike you, my mind does not seem to have been altered."

The wolf merely stared at him in confusion, and Kurt gently stroked its head, watching it carefully for any indication of another challenge. "But you, what was done to you changed your mind far more than your body. The changes you experienced made you more vicious, and more intelligent than a normal wolf, but at the price of your sanity. It was not fair and it was not right, but what was done to both of us was permanent, and so cannot be undone."

The wolf whined uncertainly, and then lowered its head submissively once more. It looked up to Kurt, as though awaiting instructions from its Pack Alpha. Kurt gently stroked its head again, and stared directly into its eyes. "Go back to the mountains," he instructed the wolf gently, "live out your life there. As long as you remain hidden from view, you should be safe. Never come near a human settlement ever again. Never harm a human again, but instead live out your life as it was meant to be lived."

The wolf licked Kurt's hand, and Kurt smiled at it. "This is Pack Alpha's command," he said, his tone both gentle and firm. The wolf lowered its head submissively again, and then howled to the rest of the pack. The wolf pack stared at Kurt for a moment, and then the largest wolf howled once more, before running towards the mountains, followed by the rest of the pack.

Kitty climbed down from the tree, and watched in amazement as the wolves gradually vanished into the night. "Those were the same wolves that chased you when you were very young," she said quietly.

Kurt nodded. "And their children and their grandchildren," he said quietly, "it seems that what was done to me is both permanent and genetic."

Kitty smiled at Kurt, and hugged him gently. "That means that you can live a very long life?" she asked hopefully.

Kurt shrugged, and seemed surprisingly unconcerned about her comment. "I don't know whether or not my life has potentially been extended, but does it really matter?" he asked. "It's only a matter of time until I do something really stupid and fatal; I doubt very much that I will die of old age."

"I wish I could be so accepting," said Kitty quietly. "But those wolves, they were the ones that Quicksilver used to eat the bodies of his victims. They're man eaters," Kitty could not stop herself from shuddering ever so slightly.

Kurt merely sighed. "I know," he said, "but it's not their fault, they were changed just as I was, but it made them insane. They can't be blamed for what was done to them."

"But are they still a danger?" Kitty asked quietly.

Kurt shook his head. "They see a second generation mutant as Pack Alpha, and so saw me as Pack Alpha when I answered Pack Second's challenge. They won't cause any more trouble."

Kitty gave Kurt a wry smile. "Are you saying that the wolf understood you?" she asked playfully.

Kurt shook his head again. "No, not my words, but I made my intentions perfectly clear," he smiled at Kitty reassuringly, "don't worry, they will obey the instructions of Pack Alpha, they won't cause any trouble for anyone, ever again."

Kitty nodded thoughtfully. "I do trust you," she said, "but I'd still like to get to the X-Men Mansion as soon as possible, just in case. I really don't want anything bad to happen out here in the open."

Kurt nodded again, took her hand, and let Kitty lead him towards the town. The remainder of their journey was uneventful, with Kurt blending into the shadows whenever anyone came close to him. Kitty and Kurt avoided getting too close to any of the townsfolk, but still heard tales about the Demon of Bayville, and once Kitty heard a couple commenting that the X-Men had sent some people to look for her, but other than that, they were able to reach the X-Men Mansion without anyone taking any notice of them whatsoever. Kitty noticed that Kurt had begun to limp, and, ignoring his protestations that he was fine, she examined his feet and found that they were blistered and sore, doubtlessly due to him walking so far so soon after being nearly burned at the stake. Kitty knew that Kurt should avoid putting any pressure on his feet if at all possible, and so asked Kurt if he could teleport into her room, but Kurt replied that he could only teleport to places that he had seen. The only place that Kurt could remember seeing inside the X-Men Mansion was Xavier's study, and both Kurt and Kitty agreed that suddenly appearing before Xavier in a cloud of sulphurous smoke would not be the most effective way of convincing the X-Men that Kurt was not a demon, so Kitty decided that Kurt should find a safe place to rest until she could explain the situation to Xavier. Kurt had reluctantly agreed, and Kitty phased him inside the Mansion, just as the first rays of dawn were beginning to break over the eastern horizon. Kitty knew that Wolverine would be having his morning session with some of the younger students, and so would be too busy with his training session to notice Kurt. She really did not want to meet Wolverine just yet, not until after she had spoken to Xavier, as she wanted to avoid any confrontation if at all possible. Kitty assured Kurt that as long as he remained phased, no one would be able to detect him, including those such as Wolverine and Rahne, who could normally detect others by scent. Kurt still seemed unsure and rather worried, as Kitty phased them both through the nearest wall. Kitty then heard voices, and quickly indicated for Kurt to accompany her, as she hid behind the nearest bookcase.

"...No, Rogue was with the group led by Storm," said the telepath Jean Grey, "she went with Rahne and the others to look for Kitty."

Her companion, Scott Summers, codename Cyclops, nodded thoughtfully. "Still, the wizard-professor did say that he would like to talk to Rogue, it seems that her abilities could prove very useful to this investigation."

Kurt gave Kitty a quizzical look as Scott and Jean entered one of the nearby rooms. Kitty merely smiled at Kurt. "Its fine," she whispered reassuringly, "Rogue's my roommate, and it looks as if she's on a mission to look for me. That means that there's no-one else in my room, so it's a safe place where you can rest for a while."

Kurt gave her a worried look. "Your roommate's trouble?" he asked quietly.

Kitty shook her head. "No, she's great. But even so, she might be a little..." Kitty examined Kurt awkwardly, and bit her lip, suddenly unsure about how to express her concerns.

Kurt nodded in sudden understanding. "Even the most tolerant person would be rather surprised if you were to bring home a demon and a wanted criminal, and so could quite understandably leap to the wrong conclusions, which could make things rather awkward for both of us."

Kitty nodded. "Yes, exactly," she whispered, "besides, I want to talk to the wizard-professor about you before I talk to anyone else. If we have Xavier on our side, then we have a very good chance of convincing everyone else in this Mansion that you're good."

"I guess that makes sense," said Kurt, as Kitty led him up the stairs towards her room. As Kitty phased Kurt through the nearest wall, Kurt stared at the room in wonderment, and it suddenly occurred to Kitty that he had probably never seen so grand a bedroom before in his entire life. Since Kurt had grown up in a caravan, sharing his home and his bedroom with his adopted family, it was no wonder that Kitty's room must have seemed both huge and awe-inspiring by comparison. Kitty smiled at him, and led him towards her bed, still keeping him phased. Kitty told him to sit down upon her bed, so that she could examine his feet again. Ignoring Kurt's rather weak protestations, Kitty gently but firmly made him sit down upon her bed, and lifted up his feet. They were still rather red and sore, but she suspected that he would be fine once he had been given a chance to have some rest and relaxation.

Kurt smiled, and then noticed the purple dragon that was lying upon Kitty's bed. "Is this Lockheed?" he asked quietly.

Kitty nodded, and pointed towards the toy dragon. "That's him," she said. "Do you want to go and say hello?"

Kurt nodded, and Kitty gave him a wry smile. "That's good," she said. "Now, are you ready to be unphased?" she asked.

Kurt merely gave her a worried look, so Kitty gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Fuzzy," she said, "nothing bad is going to happen to you, and even if it does, I'll just phase you through it, so you're in no danger, no matter what."

Kurt merely continued to stare at her uncertainly, as, very carefully, Kitty stopped phasing him, and let go of his hand. For a terrible instant she was worried that something bad would happen, but inevitably, absolutely nothing happened. Kurt did not burst into flames, or scream in pain, but merely continued to sit on her bed, looking rather awkward and uncertain. Kitty gave him a satisfied nod. "See?" she said triumphantly. "I knew that it was safe."

Kurt gave a huge sigh of relief, and examined his tail carefully, just to make sure that it was still unharmed. "To think that I could have just teleported in here at any time, and not burst into flames," he said.

Kitty nodded, and then smiled as Kurt kneeled on her bed, and held out his Little Nightcrawler doll towards Lockheed. Kurt spoke in his high-pitched Little Nightcrawler voice, "Hello Lockheed," he said, "I'm Little Nightcrawler. It is very nice to meet you."

Kitty giggled, and kneeled on her bed opposite Kurt. She picked up Lockheed, and attempted to speak in the same high-pitched tone of voice that Kurt used so well, "Hello Little Nightcrawler, I'm Lockheed," she said, jiggling the toy dragon ever so slightly, "let's be friends."

Kurt and Kitty began to giggle, but were quickly interrupted when the door to Kitty's room suddenly burst open, and Wolverine and the wizard-professor Charles Xavier came into the room. They both suddenly stopped, and stared in utter bemusement at the scene in front of their eyes. It seemed that Kitty was kneeling quite comfortably upon her bed, opposite the Demon of Bayville. Both Kitty and the demon had soft toys upon their laps. It was understandable that Xavier and Wolverine seemed to be very confused, especially when Kurt suddenly vanished in a flash of yellow light, and a cloud of sulphurous purple smoke. Kitty was initially worried that Kurt might have teleported far away, but she only needed to follow Wolverine's rather confused gaze to realise that Kurt was in fact hanging upside-down from her ceiling.

There was a rather long moment of awkward silence as the three of them stared up at where Kurt was treating them to a rather small upside-down smile and a tiny, uncertain wave. "H-hello," he eventually stuttered quietly.

Kitty laughed nervously, and turned her attention towards Xavier. "Um," she said, biting her lip and smiling awkwardly, "I suppose you would like to know why he is hanging from my ceiling," she said.

The wizard-professor turned his attention to Kitty, giving her a rather confused look. "Yes, Ms Pryde," he said, just a little sternly, "that information would most certainly be appreciated."


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews. This is the penultimate chapter of **_**Demon**_** (I still have to add the epilogue to tie up some loose ends). I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I would like to thank again everyone who has reviewed/added me to their favourite list/added me to their author alerts. Special thanks to; Yellow-eyed-wonder, Dragoncat, ****Sweetheart14879, and Lilac Rose6, who have constantly reviewed this, my humble first attempt at posting a fanfiction upon the 'net. It is quite likely that I would have given up long ago if it were not for your support and comments, it means a great deal to me to know that there are people who are reading and enjoying this story, so sincere thanks again. **

_Acceptance_

"It's because the walls are too slippery, so I can't hold on to them," said Kurt, desperately trying to break the awkward silence.

Kitty gave a nervous little laugh, and then turned towards Wolverine. "Professor Logan," she said nervously, "I thought that you were delivering a training session to the younger students this morning."

Wolverine grunted, and continued to stare up at where Kurt was hanging from the ceiling. "Bobby Iceman Drake was under the mistaken impression that a training session would be a good time to play a practical joke," he said, "needless to say, he will be spending the next few hours tidying up the mess with the help of Sunspot, Multiple and Cannonball."

"Ms Pryde," said Xavier, just a little harshly, "I think that you should be the one who is providing us with explanations, considering that the Demon of Bayville is currently hanging from your ceiling."

"Right, good point," said Kitty nervously, then pointed up at Kurt. "You've got it all wrong about him," she said, "Kurt never harmed me. He never hurt anyone."

Xavier folded his arms over his chest, and gave Kitty a very sceptical look. "Really, Ms Pryde?" he asked. "And may I ask how you know this information?"

"Kurt showed me the magic mirror," Kitty explained nervously, "it shows only the truth, and it showed me that Kurt never harmed anyone."

There was a moment of awkward silence, in which Xavier and Wolverine exchanged sceptical looks. After a rather long pause, Xavier turned his attention back to Kitty. "Might I also be able to examine this magic mirror?" he asked.

Kitty bit her lip, and shook her head slowly. "No, you see the angry mob ran off with it, but I couldn't stop them because I was too busy trying to prevent Kurt from being burned at the stake," she explained apologetically.

Xavier and Wolverine exchanged rather bemused looks. Xavier once more turned his attention back to Kitty. "Ms Pryde," he said slowly, "it would seem that you have a great deal of explaining to do."

"Please don't be mad at Kitty," said Kurt, still hanging from the ceiling, "I will tell you everything you want to know, but not while he is still in the room," Kurt pointed towards Wolverine fearfully.

"The last time that Kurt met Professor Logan," said Kitty quietly, "he was seriously injured by his claws. That's why he does not want to go anywhere near him."

"That at least is understandable," said Xavier. "However Ms Pryde, that does not change the fact that you need to explain a great deal."

"I will," Kitty assured Xavier sincerely, "we both will do our best to explain everything, but not while Professor Logan is in here."

Xavier and Wolverine exchanged confused looks once more, and Kurt suspected that they communicated with each other telepathically. Wolverine growled in frustration as Xavier turned his attention back to Kitty. "If Ms Pryde claims that I am in no immediate danger, then I trust her judgement," he said levelly. "And I can understand that your presence, Logan," he nodded towards Wolverine, "could potentially cause our guest a great deal of stress. I therefore consider that it would be reasonable for you to do as Ms Pryde suggests, and leave this room, at least for the moment."

Wolverine growled, glared up at where Kurt was watching him nervously, and then turned his attention back to Xavier. "If you say so, Chuck," he said sceptically, "don't forget that I will be just outside the door, if and when you need my help."

"Thank you Logan," said Xavier, as he watched Wolverine slowly walk towards the door. As he closed the door behind him, Xavier turned his attention back to Kitty. "Now, Ms Pryde, I believe you were going to explain to me why the Demon of Bayville is currently located within your bedroom," he said.

Kurt dropped down from the ceiling, and landed lightly on Kitty's bed, right in front of the wizard-professor. "Please don't be angry with Kitty," he said, "she was going to explain everything to you as soon as I felt rested enough to come and talk with you."

Xavier examined Kurt sceptically for a long moment, as though trying to make up his mind. "I believe that you have a great deal of explaining to do," he said after a very long pause.

Kurt hung his head. "Yes," he said, "I know I do, and I will," he swallowed nervously, "or better yet, why don't you just look inside my mind and read my thoughts? You can learn everything that you need to know, just by examining my memories," he looked up at Xavier nervously, "my mother, that is, the woman who raised me, she had powers similar to yours, so I know how your powers work. Just read my mind, and you will be able to find out everything that you need to know."

For a long moment, Xavier examined Kurt thoughtfully, as though carefully considering his suggestion. Then he gave Kurt a very small smile, and nodded towards him. "Please, take a step towards me," he said.

Nervously, Kurt inched towards him. Xavier placed his hands upon Kurt's forehead. _This might feel strange at first,_ Xavier explained, his voice suddenly sounding within Kurt's mind; _try to relax your mental barriers as best you can, although I appreciate that you might find that difficult at first._

Kurt nodded, and swallowed nervously. He gave Xavier a very small smile, and then did his best to relax all of his mental barriers, and to allow Xavier to access all of his memories, regardless of how embarrassing or shameful some of them might be. It was clearly important that Xavier could see all of Kurt's thoughts, not just the ones that he was proud of, but also those secret, private thoughts that he had never thought anyone would ever be able to examine. It was clear that Xavier would have to be able to witness everything; otherwise Kurt would not be able to convince him of his innocence.

As Xavier examined his mind and his memories, the wizard-professor assured him that it was perfectly normal for people to want to shield their innermost thoughts, their most private, secret desires, as he felt Kurt doing his best to open up his mind so that Xavier could clearly examine his memories. After a very brief exploration, Xavier became surprised at what he found, for Kurt was clearly entirely human. It was also obvious that Kurt was surprisingly normal, despite his exotic appearance and rather unusual upbringing. As Xavier continued to explore Kurt's mind and his memories, he discovered that Kurt was a generally well-adjusted teenager, despite having issues with self-esteem and body image. These issues were understandable enough, considering Kurt's rather unusual physical features. As Xavier explored Kurt's mind, he found that Kurt had perfectly normal hopes and dreams, and that he wanted what nearly all normal teenagers desired, to be loved in every sense of the word, to be accepted, and to reach his full potential. Xavier also found other thoughts, quite natural thoughts that he had witnessed before inside the minds of teenagers, but thoughts that were private and secret, youthful dreams and wants, thoughts that he was sure Kurt would not want to share with him. Xavier thankfully ignored these thoughts, and instead examined Kurt's memories, witnessing Kurt growing up with the Szardos Circus, with a loving if understandably rather protective adopted family, who had done their best to shield Kurt from the darker aspects of humanity. In all intended kindness, Kurt's family had done their best to keep Kurt away from threats and potential dangers, and so Kurt had grown up believing that the vast majority of humanity were as fundamentally good and loving as his own adopted family, and this was something that Kurt still believed wholeheartedly, despite having since realised that humanity could be anything but good and kind. It was clear that Kurt's family had been largely responsible for Kurt developing into an unusually kind and gentle teenager, if admittedly one that was also rather naive and innocent. Yet despite his naivety, Kurt was clearly not stupid, as he possessed an above average level of intelligence, combined with a sometimes rather dry wit. Kurt could speak several languages fluently, and had a keen interest in science and nature, and a love of learning that Xavier rarely witnessed in one so young. Kurt also loved stories, especially adventure stories, and had formed an idealised sense of self in the character of a pirate, Captain Blue Tail, who was based upon a fictional Spanish pirate, Captain Carlos Mendoza, from a book he had recently been reading. As Xavier witnessed everything that Kitty had seen within the magic mirror, he realised that Kurt was a lot closer to his idealised self of Captain Blue Tail than he realised, and that with proper training and nurturing, Kurt could potentially be one of the best X-Men ever.

Despite this, Kurt was far from perfect. Xavier found that Kurt could be short-sighted, impetuous, and at times rather immature, although considering that he was sixteen, this was understandable. Xavier also found a deep fondness and affection for Kitty, and smiled despite himself when he witnessed Kurt's feelings. It was understandable that they would be attracted to each other, they were around the same age, and it seemed that they shared many of the same interests. Xavier, however, did not pry too deeply into Kurt's feelings, understanding that those thoughts were secret and that Kurt deserved at least some privacy within his own head. Kurt was thankful that Xavier was so understanding, as the wizard-professor instead examined his memories of the past few months, the time since the Szardos Circus had burnt to the ground.

Xavier witnessed Kurt meeting Mystique, and frowned ever so slightly when she claimed that Kurt was her son. It soon became obvious, however, that Kurt's opinion of Mystique was at best ambivalent, and that he certainly did not approve of her more violent methods of ensuring that mutant freedom was maintained. Worryingly, it also seemed that Kurt's rather unusual appearance and agility were the results of Magneto's experiments, although Kurt mercifully did not remember what was done to his body during infancy, and was largely unaware of what Magneto had done to alter him. _Oh Erik, have you fallen so far since the time when we were friends?_ The thought seemed to suddenly enter Kurt's mind, and Kurt sensed Xavier's sadness and regret. Kurt gave Xavier another small smile, which Xavier returned.

Xavier saw the Szardos Circus burn down, and witnessed Kurt blame himself for the death of his friends and family, when he was at the very worst only partially and indirectly responsible for the destruction of his home. Xavier saw the guilt within Kurt; saw what a huge burden this guilt had become, as Kurt had convinced himself that he had abandoned his circus family to the flames, in order to save himself. Xavier tried to convince Kurt that he was not responsible for what happened to the Szardos Circus, that Kurt had not even known at that time that he was able to teleport to safety, and that he had been quite willing to hand himself over to Morttoten, even though he was well aware that doing so would have almost certainly meant his own death. Kurt, however, had been convinced that he had a great deal to make up for, and so had done his best to thwart the Brotherhood's murderous plans, in order to try to make up for abandoning his circus family. Xavier watched as Kurt attempted to save people from the Brotherhood, and was simply used as a scapegoat for the Brotherhood's murderous schemes. Yet Kurt continued to thwart the Brotherhood's plans whenever possible, regardless of what others might think of him, or the stories of the Demon of Bayville that had begun to spread around the town. It did not matter to Kurt that the townsfolk feared and hated him, their opinions would not prevent Kurt from doing what he knew was right. Xavier smiled at Kurt again, and nodded approvingly. It was as if Kurt understood exactly what it meant to be an X-Man, and it was clear that Kurt would be an excellent addition to their organisation, if only he could be persuaded to join them, even after their previous rather unfortunate encounters.

Xavier removed his hands from Kurt's head, and smiled at him reassuringly. Then he turned to Kitty. "I am going to call a meeting in the downstairs meeting room," he told her calmly. "I will send for you and Kurt when you are required to join us. I trust that you can show Kurt the location of this meeting room?"

Kitty nodded, and smiled at Xavier. "Yes Professor," she said quietly, and then watched as Xavier calmly rolled out of her room.

Kitty reached over and hugged Kurt. "How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

Kurt touched his forehead. It did not exactly hurt, but he did feel strangely lightheaded after his thoughts had been exposed to Xavier so openly. He also felt strangely relieved, as though confessing his thoughts to Xavier had in a way helped to reduce the amount of guilt and shame that he had felt ever since the Szardos Circus burnt down. "I'm fine," said Kurt, smiling at Kitty gently, "I think. But why does Xavier want to call a meeting?" he asked.

Kitty smiled at him. "To discuss you," she explained gently, "Xavier wants to tell everyone in the X-Men Mansion about what he found within your thoughts and within your mind. He wants to talk to everyone within this mansion without you there, so that they know that you've not put him under a spell or anything, and so they can know that you're good. Then they'll know that they were wrong about you being a murderous demon, and will do everything in their power to try to make it up to you."

"I hope you're right," said Kurt quietly.

_Kurt, please accompany Ms Pryde to the downstairs meeting room_, the thought suddenly entered Kurt's mind, _Ms Pryde will show you where it is located._

Kitty smiled at Kurt reassuringly. "Xavier just communicated with you, too, didn't he?" she asked, gently taking his hand. "Come, everyone will doubtlessly be curious about meeting you."

Kitty led Kurt towards the downstairs meeting room, phasing through walls as she did so, until Kurt entered a rather large room with red carpets and huge windows. Xavier was sitting behind a desk at the far end of the room. Standing behind him was Wolverine, who had his arms folded, and was watching Kurt cautiously. Kurt quickly looked away from him, and instead examined the two dozen or so students within the room. They were watching him with a combination of curiosity and anxiety, as Kurt slowly made his way towards Xavier. Kitty smiled at Kurt reassuringly, and tightened her grip on his hand. Kurt swallowed as he stopped before Xavier's desk, and wondered what exactly he was supposed to do. Xavier merely nodded kindly towards Kurt, and then turned his attention towards the other mutants within the room. "I am sorry that I had to assemble you all here on such short notice," he told them, "but as you are now aware, Kurt here is in no way, shape or form responsible for the crimes that we have attributed to the Demon of Bayville. Indeed," he smiled at Kurt mischievously, "it would seem that Kurt here has never committed a violent crime in his life, and that his criminal activity has instead been limited to merely kidnapping, trespassing, and burglary."

"There were very good reasons why I did all of those things," said Kurt hurriedly, suddenly feeling rather worried.

Xavier merely nodded towards Kurt again, and smiled at him reassuringly. "I know, Kurt," he said calmly, "you may not have always made the objectively right choices, nor always taken the wisest course of action, but none can deny that the reasons for your actions were invariably noble and good. I believe that with proper training and guidance, you could make an exemplary member of the X-Men.

Kurt blinked, and gave Xavier a confused look. "I am not sure that I understand," he admitted.

"We want you to join us," said Wolverine gruffly, "that is, unless you got better plans, or feel that you would rather not join us considering what happened the last time we met."

"Exactly," said Xavier, "I am not afraid to admit that we were wrong about you, and I would be grateful if you would at least consider joining the X-Men. You will of course be provided with everything that you require, if you decide to accept my offer."

Kurt smiled, and then turned towards Kitty, who was nodding enthusiastically. "Please," she whispered.

Kurt nodded towards her, smiled at her reassuringly, and then turned his attention back to Xavier. Kurt held out his hand to Xavier, who shook it firmly. Kurt grinned at Xavier happily. "Why not at least give it a try?" said Kurt, shrugging slightly. "Kitty clearly wants me to join, and it's not exactly in my nature to refuse anything from a beautiful lady."

A few of the students began to giggle upon hearing Kurt's comment, as Kurt and Xavier continued to shake hands.

Xavier nodded happily. "I am very glad to hear that, Kurt," he said, "and welcome to the X-Men."


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Notes: Thanks again for all the reviews. This is it, the final chapter of **_**Demon**_**. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed/added me to their favourite list/added me to their author alerts, especially; Yellow-eyed-wonder, Dragoncat, ****Sweetheart14879, Lilac Rose6, Talk-Ape and Pointyearsrule; thank you for all your support and feedback, knowing that you are reading and enjoying this makes all the time I have spent working on it worthwhile. Sweetheart14879 – I don't plan to write another story like this in the near future, as I have to get on and edit my original stories, but there are still plenty of stories to be told in this world (I've randomly numbered it Marvel Universe 917), so I will probably visit in the future at some point, perhaps focusing on Kurt's childhood growing up in the circus, or the day that Margali found him in the river. I do intend to write more fanfictions in the future; they're addictive, and now that I've started, I don't know if I will ever be able to stop. Also, don't worry about Kitty and Kurt having no privacy, as implied in this chapter, they have had plenty of time to get to know each other and fall in love with each other, as Kitty has been tutoring Kurt. Talk-Ape – wow, you're on a Eurotrip and visiting Vienna, and you still took time to read and review my story? Now I'm really flattered. I hope you have a good trip, and return home safely. Lilac Rose6 – Honestly, don't worry about not reviewing straight away, I'm grateful for all reviews, but I know how difficult it can be to write them sometimes, so any review, no matter how late, is always appreciated. Sorry you hurt yourself squealing, but I'm really glad that you liked the last chapter; I hope you will like this one just as much. ****Yellow-eyed-wonder – that's probably one of the nicest compliments I've ever received, and the thought that I've inspired you as a writer is truly humbling, it makes all the hours I've spent staring at a blank page or screen waiting for inspiration to strike worth the effort. The best advice that I can give you comes from my literary hero, the ridiculously talented Mr Neil Gaiman - "The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before," and "May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." And don't forget "Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe." **

_Epilogue – Reunion_

"**Only the phoenix rises and does not descend. And everything changes. And nothing is truly lost."** _**(Neil Gaiman)**_

It had been just over a month since Kurt had joined the X-Men. In that time, Kitty had watched Kurt's self-esteem improve and his confidence grow, until he quickly became one of the most popular and well-liked mutants within the Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters. Part of the reason for his improved self-confidence was the small copper bracelet that Xavier had given to him the day after he had moved in to the mansion. Xavier had enchanted the bracelet so that it created an illusion around Kurt, hiding his more unique and exotic features and making him instead look like a perfectly normal teenager. Kurt had initially tried to convince Xavier to make the illusion look more like Stefan, to make him look incredibly handsome and charming, but Xavier had, politely but firmly, told Kurt that the purpose of the bracelet was to allow him to interact with the rest of society, to be able to do normal teenage activities, and that the purpose of the bracelet was not to promote vanity. Kurt had grudgingly accepted his decision, and the illusion that the bracelet created actually looked quite a lot like his normal self, except without the blue fur, yellow eyes, fangs and tail. Kitty herself had rather ambivalent feelings towards the bracelet. There was no doubt that it gave Kurt a level of freedom he could not have otherwise experienced, but still, it hid his true self, and it just seemed wrong to Kitty that Kurt had to hide his uniqueness in order to be accepted by society. Kitty longed for the day when the colour of people's skin was as irrelevant as the colour of their eyes, but until that day arrived, there could be no doubt that the enchanted bracelet had helped Kurt immensely, allowing him to grow and thrive into a fine and mostly confident young man.

A couple of days after Kurt had joined the X-Men, Xavier had enrolled him Bayville High. Kurt had understandably been nervous about going to school and meeting new people, especially since he had never so much as stepped inside a classroom before. The school had been informed that Kurt had grown up with a circus, and that, through no fault of his own, the circus had recently disbanded. The school staff had been advised to be tolerant with Kurt, since he had never been formally educated before. Xavier had also written to the headmistress of the school, explaining that Kurt always had to wear his copper bracelet while in public, and what he had written was, more or less, the truth. Xavier had explained that Kurt suffered from a rare skin condition that made his skin feel furry to the touch, and that the bracelet helped to alleviate the symptoms and problems caused by this condition. Kurt had been impressed with the letter, as it showed that Xavier seemed to possess Stefan's gift for being able to deceive without actually lying, in order to keep Kurt safe.

Although Kurt had initially had some trouble and embarrassing moments when he first joined Bayville High, he had quickly adapted to the school environment. Although there were inevitably gaps in his knowledge, with Kitty's help and tutoring, Kurt had, within weeks of first attending Bayville High, quickly learned almost everything he needed to know in order to become a good student. Indeed, the teachers at the school had been impressed by how knowledgeable Kurt was on a wide range of subjects, especially considering that he had been raised in a circus, and had never received a formal education before. Kitty had felt immensely proud of Kurt's achievements, and had enjoyed tutoring him, for he was an enthusiastic student, always quick to learn, and always willing to ask questions if he needed clarification on any topic. Kurt had also gradually become less fearful of fire, as Kitty was now able to stand at the far end of Kurt's room, a very small, lit candle in her hands. "May I take a step closer?" Kitty asked quietly, as Kurt continued to stare at his disguised self within his mirror.

"One small step," said Kurt, not turning around to look at the flame, "then blow it out, please."

Kitty nodded, and did as she was asked. She then walked over to where Kurt was self-consciously checking all over his body, making absolutely sure that all of his unique features were hidden under the illusion created by his copper bracelet. Kitty put down the candle, and smiled at Kurt reassuringly. "Don't worry, they'll love you," she told him gently.

Kurt merely smiled back at her, but he did not look convinced. Kitty had arranged for Kurt to meet her parents later, and, even though they had over three hours before they were due to meet with them, Kurt had spent a considerable amount of time checking his appearance, making sure that the illusion of the suit was neat and tidy, and that his tail was completely hidden under the illusion created by the copper bracelet. It did not matter to Kurt that his clothes were nothing more than an illusion, he still wanted to look his best and most formal when meeting Kitty's parents for the first time. He said that he wanted to make it clear that he respected Kitty and her parents. Kitty had unsuccessfully tried to convince Kurt to show them his normal, fuzzy self, but Kurt had politely but firmly refused. Kitty could sort of understand why he felt that way; after all, it was only natural that he would want her parents to think of him as Kitty's best friend, who just happened to be blue and furry, rather than a mutant that was blue and furry, and who just happened to be Kitty's best friend. So Kitty had agreed that he could meet her parents while wearing his copper bracelet, on the condition that he would remove it when an opportune moment presented itself. Kurt had reluctantly agreed to Kitty's request.

Kurt looked down at his illusionary clothes, and then back up at Kitty. He smiled at her nervously. "How do I look?" he asked.

"Normal," said Kitty, not quite approvingly, "pink."

Kurt gave a sigh of relief. "That's exactly how I want to look," he said, turning his attention back to the mirror, and examining his hair critically.

Kitty shook her head, and then smiled at Kurt reassuringly once more. "You will be fine," she told him gently.

Kurt gave her an uncertain smile, and looked like he was about to respond, when there was a knock on his door. "Kurt, may I come in?" asked Storm.

"Of course," said Kurt, running over to the door and opening it. He smiled at Storm, and bowed theatrically as she entered his room. Kurt had always rather liked Storm, and had told Kitty that she reminded him a bit of a younger version of Margali, kind and gentle, yet still strong and determined.

Storm smiled and nodded at Kurt, and then smiled towards Kitty, before turning her attention back to Kurt once more. "There's someone here to see you," she said, and then pointed at his copper bracelet, "oh, and you might want to remove that," she added.

Kurt gave Storm a confused look. "What does he want?" he asked cautiously.

"She," Storm corrected, "she wants to see you, that's all, don't look so worried."

Kurt swallowed, but nodded uncertainly. "Tell her that I will be down shortly, please," he said.

Storm nodded, and then left Kurt's room. Kurt looked nervous for a moment, before making his way towards the door. "Right," he said uncertainly, "I guess I had better go and see what she wants."

Kitty nodded. "You will be fine," she reassured him, "and Storm said that you can leave your bracelet here."

Kurt shook his head, as they made their way out of the room and towards the front of the mansion. "I'm not taking any chances," he said, "that's twice people have tried to burn me to death for being blue and fuzzy, I don't want to make it third time..." his voice trailed off when he saw the tall, graceful woman standing near the entrance to the mansion. Margali smiled at him uncertainly, as Kurt stared back at her in surprise.

"Hello Kurt," she said quietly, examining the illusion that covered his body, disguising his more exotic features, "you're looking rather..." her voice trailed off as she examined him, "pale," she said, after a rather long pause.

"M-Margali," Kurt stuttered, "Mum!" Then Kurt removed the bracelet from his wrist, revealing his true form, before racing across the hall, and a moment later, he was in Margali's arms. Margali hugged him gently, and stroked his cheek lightly. A number of mutants had started to gather around the entrance to the mansion, obviously curious about this strange woman, but Kurt ignored them. There were tears in his eyes as he looked up at Margali, and a moment later, he began to cry. "I'm so sorry!" he said. "It's all my fault. Jimaine, Stefan, the circus, everyone and everything you ever loved is gone, because of me!"

Margali smiled at Kurt sadly, and shook her head, staring Kurt directly in the eye. "No Kurt," she said, quietly and reassuringly, "not everyone."

Kurt managed a small smile. "They died," he said quietly, "protecting me."

Margali nodded sombrely. "The wizard-professor Charles Xavier explained to me what happened back at the circus," she said, "but if it is either of our faults, the blame is mine."

Kurt stepped back, and stared at her incredulously. "What?" he exclaimed.

Margali smiled sadly at Kurt. "Jimaine wanted to leave Morttoten in the river, to drown him, in order to keep you safe," said Margali sadly. "But I, in my pride and arrogance, refused to let her." Margali gave a huge sigh. "A long time ago, I killed a man, to protect those I love. You could argue that what I did was justified, but the simple truth is that you cannot commit murder and remain unchanged. It can cause madness and evil, and can lead you down a very dark path, and once you are in the depths of this darkness, it is very hard to find the light again." Margali shook her head sadly. "I wanted to spare my daughter that, but I should have had the courage to drown him myself, now that I know that the darkness can be defeated. If I had done so, your brother and sister, and all of your friends at the Szardos Circus might still be alive. But because of my arrogance, they are not, so the guilt for their death is not yours, but mine."

Kurt continued to stare at her incredulously, for a long moment. "That's ridiculous," he said at last, "you couldn't have known that the circus would be destroyed."

"It is no more ridiculous than you blaming yourself for what happened," Margali told him quietly.

Kurt shook his head. "I thought you'd hate me. I was worried that you'd never want to see me again, after what happened," he admitted.

Margali gave him a sad smile. "When you reach my age, it is natural that your life becomes tainted with the sorrow of death. But you, you were barely more than a child when your family were murdered," she shook her head sadly; "I do not know how well I would have coped, had I been in your place."

Kurt looked down at his feet. "Sometimes you just have to cope, because there's nothing else that can be done," he said quietly. Then Kurt suddenly looked up at Margali, pity in his yellow eyes. "But if you're here, then that must mean your ex-husband..." his voice trailed off.

Margali nodded sadly. "Tonino had been sick for a very long time," she said quietly, "his death was inevitable and not unexpected. He was not a young man. Kurt, when an old person dies, it's always sad, but the bitterness of the sorrow is made more bearable by the knowledge that that person lived a good, long life, and when the time came, left this life, to make room so that younger ones may have the chance to do the same. His death was far less tragic than the deaths of our friends and family from the Szardos Circus."

Kurt smiled at Margali sadly. "Then take away the memories," he said quietly, "take away the memory of the time I lost everyone, and all the guilt I've had to endure these last few months. I don't want to remember any more. I know you can do this, I've seen you take away memories before."

Margali merely shook her head. "Oh Kurt, I will take away all of the bad dreams, but please, don't ask me to remove your memories," she said quietly, "taking away another's memory should never be done lightly, but to take away the memory of months of growth and learning, that can lead to madness or worse. I could not do that to anyone, least of all to you. Listen, when I left the circus, you were little more than a child, still a bit too innocent and naive for your own good. Now you are practically a man, you have grown so much in the past few months, and the child I left behind is gone forever. He cannot return, but you can attempt to learn from the past. To live in the past is to fail to honour the dead by refusing to live in the present, and to refuse to prepare for the future. I will not dishonour my family that way, for I want to help you live your life in the present and in the future, not the past." Margali then looked up, and saw Kitty, who was watching her nervously. Margali smiled a knowing smile, before turning her attention back to Kurt. "I do not need to be a sorceress to be able to tell that much of your future will be spent with this lovely young lady," she said.

Kitty smiled nervously, and slowly walked towards Margali. "My name is Kitty Pryde," she said, and held out her hand towards Margali, who shook it gently, "Kurt often talks about you. It is clear that he regards you as highly as you regard him."

Margali winked at Kurt. "I like her," she said, "so you have finally found a young lady who is your perfect romantic partner."

Kurt looked down, and began to blush slightly. "Mother," he said quietly, "you're embarrassing me."

Margali nodded, and winked at Kitty. "A mother's prerogative, I'm afraid," she said, "and I've missed embarrassing you these last few months, so I have to make up for lost time."

Kitty began to giggle, as Kurt continued to stare at the floor. Margali laughed, and nodded approvingly towards Kitty. "She's very pretty," she said, "but a bit too skinny," she smiled at Kitty mischievously, "we're going to have to fatten you up, if you are serious about having a romantic relationship with my youngest," she told her playfully.

Kitty grinned mischievously. Although Kurt looked rather embarrassed, Kitty felt incredibly glad that Margali still considered him her son, and did not blame him for what had happened to the Szardos Circus and her family. Kitty then watched, confused, as Margali reached inside the pocket of her skirt, and removed a small, folded piece of paper.

"Oh, I almost forgot about this," said Margali, turning her attention back to Kurt, "a young woman gave this letter to me on the way here. It's addressed to you."

Kurt looked confused as he took the offered letter. "What is it?" he asked.

"I would not dream of invading your privacy by opening a letter addressed to you," said Margali sincerely, "I know only that you are in no danger from this letter, nothing less and nothing more."

Kurt merely frowned, and then opened the letter. He stared at it for a long moment, and then smiled, ever so slightly, before folding it and placing it in his pocket. Then he noticed the small crowd of mutants who had gathered around the entrance to the mansion, and noticed that they were watching him curiously. Kurt shrugged, and gave a little laugh. "The Eleventh of November," he said quietly, "my birthday. It's today. I'm seventeen. I guess Mystique isn't made out of stone after all."

Some of the gathered mutants began to laugh and clap. Margali smiled at Kurt sincerely. "Happy birthday," she said.

"Happy birthday," said Kitty, moving closer to Kurt, and smiling at him gently.

Margali winked at Kitty. "Why don't you give him a birthday kiss?" she asked. "After all, it's clear that you two are in love with each other, so stop being shy about it."

"Mother," said Kurt, "don't embarrass her."

Margali winked at Kurt. "But it's obvious," she said. "Besides, I'm not getting any younger. I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren."

There was giggling from some of the mutants who were watching them, but Kitty ignored them, as she ginned at Kurt mischievously. "No, I want to," she said, and then kissed Kurt. She had initially intended it to be nothing more than a quick kiss on the cheek, but somehow she ended up kissing Kurt passionately on the lips, a true lover's kiss, full of emotion and love, passion and acceptance. Kitty vaguely wondered if Margali was working her magic to remove her inhibitions, but quickly decided that it did not matter. She loved Kurt, and it was obvious that he felt the same way towards her. She wanted the whole world to know how she felt, for in that brief, eternal moment, it seemed that Kurt was her entire world.

"Could you wait to make a start on these grandchildren until the rest of us leave?" asked Rogue, but she was smiling, and it was clear that she was glad that her two friends had finally admitted that they loved each other. Still, Kurt and Kitty reluctantly pulled away from each other, and blushed slightly as several mutants began to laugh and clap approvingly.

Margali gave them an approving nod. "Much better," she said decisively.

Kurt nodded shyly, and Kitty smiled at Margali, who returned the smile. She did not have to be a sorceress to know that Kurt and Kitty would have a long and happy life together, that they would grow in love and friendship, explore strange places and experience exotic cultures, yet always find home and love within the other's eyes. Yet in time, Kurt and Kitty achieved far more than Margali could have possibly imagined, changed the world for the better, and fought battles against prejudice and injustice wherever they found them, yet always found time to relax in a gentle embrace, where they found love and acceptance within the other's arms.

As for the Brotherhood, they never returned to the land, and neither Kitty nor Kurt ever saw them again. There were stories and rumours concerning what had happened to them, some saying that they had been killed by an angry mob, others saying that they crossed the sea, where became reformed characters in a new land. It did not matter to Kurt and Kitty, for they had found true happiness with each other, and knew that nothing would ever be able to change that. In time, the story of Kurt's and Kitty's love itself became a tale of myth and legend, told around camp fires to awestruck crowds. The tale of Kurt and Kitty, of The Demon of Bayville, of Beauty and the Beast, was told and retold hundreds of times, all over Europe and beyond. The details changed with the telling and the retelling, but the essence of the story remained the same, for it was a tale of life, love and acceptance. In time, Kurt and Kitty's story became nothing more than a fairytale, told by the bards and storytellers all over the world, because bards and storytellers are the people who know about the importance of stories, and who therefore understand why these stories should never be lost.


End file.
